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What did the 1851 ”Fizeau Experiment” prove? What did it disprove?

Author:

Li, Chunsheng

Category:

Essays

Sub-Category:

Relativity Theory

Language:

English

Date Published:

December 26, 2024

File:

/Essays-Relativity Theory/Download/10046

Downloads:

Keywords:

Aether, speed of light, constancy of the speed of light, variable speed of light, velocity addition theorem, Galilean transformation

Abstract:

This paper provides an alternative perspective on the 1851 flowing water dragging experiment (Fizeau Experiment) conducted by the French physicist Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau, uncovering experimental details that have not received sufficient attention previously. The Fizeau Experiment demonstrated that the speed of light is influenced by the motion of the medium, either adding to or subtracting from it—showing that the speed of light is variable. It confirmed the classical physics principle of velocity addition while disproving the hypothesis of the invariance of the speed of light. Science relies on experimental evidence, yet the same experiment can lead to completely opposite conclusions and give rise to different theoretical frameworks. On what basis do we determine which interpretation (or theory) is correct? It is hoped that these questions will prompt some reflection. References: Excerpted from H. Fizeau’s paper, ”On the Hypotheses Relating to the Luminous Ether and an Experiment That Seems to Show That the Motion of Bodies Changes the Speed with Which Light Propagates Within Them”, Comptes Rendus de l’Acad´emie des Sciences, Vol. 33, 1851, pp. 349–355.