Michelson-Morley Experiment Finds No Aether Drift
July 1887 · 19th Century
In July 1887, physicists Albert Michelson and Edward Morley conducted an experiment at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Using an interferometer mounted on a stone slab floating in mercury, they attempted to detect Earth's motion through the hypothesized luminiferous aether. The experiment produced a null result, finding no significant difference in light speed measured in different directions. Published in the American Journal of Science in November 1887, this finding contradicted prevailing aether theories and contributed to Einstein's 1905 theory of special relativity.
Key Figures
Albert A. MichelsonEdward W. Morley
Locations
Western Reserve UniversityAdelbert Hall
Topics
physicsscientific revolutionaetherlightrelativity
Connected Events — 2 Connections
The experiment's null result helped establish that light speed is constant regardless of Earth's motion through space, providing crucial empirical foundation for Einstein's second postulate of special relativity Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity
Foucault's rotating Earth paradigm influenced precision measurements of Earth's motion through space Foucault's Pendulum Demonstrates Earth's Rotation
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