Aether Experiments: What's Your Take?

[user1]

What are your opinions about these two experiments described at: http://adsind.wordpress.com? Can they be used to reject some of the aether theories?

 

[Doc Al]

Do you have a published reference? (A personal website is not an acceptable reference.)

 

[user1]

No. The experiments are posted only on that website. I was interested to know what people on these forums think about the experiments.

 

[HallsofIvy]

I get the impression that the person who wrote that is not even clear what the question is. Both of those experiments seem to be aimed at determining, not whether the "aether" exists but whether it has properties, such as pressure, etc. of material "objects". It seems to me that most, if not all, physicists today accept that "light" is a wave in the electro-magnetic field so that the "either", not any material substance.

 

[UltrafastPED]

"The cavity created inside the piston system should be free of aether since we assumed that aether does not pass through high density metals. We assume that the entire system is perfectly built and sealed so that there is no gap between exterior of the cube and the inside cavity. The cavity can be better sealed from the exterior if we submerse the entire piston system into mercury."

The author uses a mercury barometer to create a "vacuum" which excludes the aether ... because the aether cannot pass through heavy metals.

No, I don't think that this would accomplish any of the stated goals. Most of the "writing" is simply a detailed description of how to build a not-so-good vacuum chamber. The author seems to view the "aether" as a liquid or gas which can be excluded from here, or captured there ...

I suggest you read this instead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_theories

 

[micromass]

That should answer your question. I am locking this thread because there is not a published reference for this experiment.