- #1
thomasxc
- 140
- 0
how is dark matter different from the old "ether" theory
thomasxc said:how is dark matter different from the old "ether" theory
Garth said:the aether in its original form would have been a medium against which an absolute frame of reference could be measured.
Garth
Because the ether was thought to be the very fabric of space, acting much like air as a medium for sound.granpa said:why would motion relative to the aether be absolute?
so? that's still relative not absolute.russ_watters said:Because the ether was thought to be the very fabric of space, acting much like air as a medium for sound.
The ether was not introduced to explain an error in a theory, it was assumed to exist based on the way previous theories worked. It was discarded when it was found that it didn't exist.pbannister said:Backwards?
Both "ether" and "dark matter" were offered as - in some respects - similar explanations. In the end the purposed theory for "ether" was rejected when what we knew advanced enough that the equations did not work out. We are not yet that far along with "dark matter". Both "ether" and "dark matter" are metaphors for something we do not understand. Both were presented as a sort of universal seemingly undetectable medium - and proposed as an answer to a current question.
Perhaps, but one way to look at the advancement of science is a narrowing of error margins. Because of the narrowing of error margins, the potential for error in current theory is much smaller than in the theories that existed 110 years ago.Give the subject another fifty years, and they might both share the same chapter in a Physics textbook.
You seem to be taking the question figuratively. We read it and answered it literally.Seems to me the question that started this thread is entirely reasonable.
russ_watters said:Perhaps, but one way to look at the advancement of science is a narrowing of error margins. Because of the narrowing of error margins, the potential for error in current theory is much smaller than in the theories that existed 110 years ago.
No, it's not. The speed of sound is constant only relative only to the air that it is traveling through. It is not constant between objects moving though the air. Thus, the air is the one and only special/absolute rest frame from which the speed of sound can be measured to be constant.granpa said:so? that's still relative not absolute.
russ_watters said:No, it's not. The speed of sound is constant only relative only to the air that it is traveling through. It is not constant between objects moving though the air. Thus, the air is the one and only special/absolute rest frame from which the speed of sound can be measured to be constant.
Works the same for light and the aether.
Me? This is Relativity I'm talking about. This is one of the most well-researched theories in science. I don't have to think it through, I'm just telling you what those thousands of physicists for the past 100+ years have figured out. And the belief that there was an absolute frame of reference (like for sound in air) is one of the primary reasons for it's creation - when that belief was found to be wrong (by the MM exp, as posted above).granpa said:not if objects shrink, become time dilated, and experience loss of simultaneity when moving through it. I really don't think that you've thought this through.
Chronos said:Michelson-Morley was a brilliantly designed experiment that works just fine in air, or any other 'ponderable' media, granpa. See
http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/michelson.html
Chronos said:...knowledge of classical physics is necessary to appreciate the MM experiment, and why it refutes the classical 'aether' concept... We will all be on the same page then.
Chronos said:That is the sort of drivel that makes me want to push the 'report' button, oldman. All you are doing is 'moving the goal posts'.
Dark matter is a hypothetical type of matter that is believed to make up about 85% of the total mass of the universe. It does not emit or absorb light, and therefore cannot be seen directly by telescopes. Its existence is inferred by its gravitational effects on visible matter.
Ether is a concept that was once believed to be a medium that filled all of space and allowed light to travel through it. It was thought to be necessary for the propagation of electromagnetic waves, but it was later disproven by the theory of relativity.
The main difference between dark matter and ether is that dark matter is a real substance that has been observed through its gravitational effects, while ether was a concept that has been disproven by scientific evidence.
Scientists have observed the gravitational effects of dark matter on visible matter, such as galaxies and galaxy clusters. They have also studied the rotation curves of galaxies, which show that there is more mass present than what can be accounted for by visible matter. Additionally, experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider have provided evidence for the existence of dark matter particles.
No, dark matter and ether are not related. Ether was a concept that was proposed in the 19th century to explain the propagation of light, while dark matter is a real substance that has been observed through its gravitational effects. The two concepts are based on different theories and have been studied and understood in different ways.