Replicating the Michelson-Morley Experiment

ORAL

Abstract

The famous 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment measured the propagation of light in a rotating interferometer. For more than one hundred and twenty years, the data obtained from this experiment have been examined by many interested professionals. These investigations have raised numerous questions concerning the analysis and interpretation of the originally published data. With interest in replicating this experiment, we have designed a new rotating interferometer of the same scale as the original experiment. This apparatus is composed on a standard four foot by six foot optical breadboard supported on a cylindrical float inside a concentric cylindrical tank. The interferometer consist of sixteen adjustable front surface mirrors, and a pellicle beamsplitter arranged in the same geometry as used in the original experiment. The interferometer is rotated smoothly by the equivalent of a 2-meter diameter brushless motor. The data collected will be analyzed by both original and current theories of operation of this instrument. We will present the details of this experiment.

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Authors

  • Charles Rogers

    AAPT

  • Mikhail Zhernenkov

    Angelo State University Department of Physics, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas Tech University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Univeristy of Central Florida-College of Optics and Photonics, BAE Systems, University of Alberta Department of Physics, Istanbul University Department of Physics, Texas Tech University Department of Physics, Istanbul University, Beyazit, University of Alberta, Edmonton, UTD, TAMS at UNT, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University at Albany, Dept. of Physics, University of New Orleans, University of Texas at Arlington, Prairie View A\&M University, Chemistry, UTSA, Sciprint.org, Texas Tech University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas State University, Punjab U, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, Dept. of Physics, Texas State University, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson TX 75080, Department of Physics, Texas A\&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4242, Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Volta Redonda, RJ, Brazil, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, Department of Physics, Texas A\&M University, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, University of Texas Arlington, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Max Plank Institute, Dresden, Germany, Education Consultant, APS, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Physics, Texas A\&M University, College Station, TX 77843, LANSCE, Los Alamos National Laboratory