How does the swimmer analogy explain the movement of light in the ether?

[Fawkes511]

On the Ether "Swimmer Analogy"

I am a high school student working through Lillian Lieber's The Einstein Theory of Relativity. She addresses Michelson's "swimmer analogy" (that light traveling through the ether could be compared to a swimmer traveling in a stream). I am confused as to how, in this theory, light with any component of motion in the "ether wind" direction would be able to move without a "deflection" in path. Help?

 

[Ikoro]

Hi, I am also a high school student but took Relativity last semester. By the way when you refer to ether what do you imply. Do u imply ether as being space or ether as being a stream of possible interference in space like light passing through a huge planet( gravitational field).

 

[Fawkes511]

I mean "ether" as the medium through which light travels, as envisaged in Michelson's day (i.e. as a fixed frame of reference through which the Earth would move). Perhaps if I were to write "luminiferous aether," my meaning would be more apparent?

 

[Lasker]

I'm not sure if I understand your question, but I think the answer is that the light *would* be deflected under this theory. When Michelson's experiment found that this didn't actually occur, it put a big hole in the whole idea of an "aether".

 

[Ikoro]

Ohh now i understand that was in a frame where space was flat so you but due to presence of planets, radiation anomalies, black holes and many other things light cannot therefore travel without a deflection.

 

[Ikoro]

correct me if am wrong about the ether

 

[Ikoro]

i mean your reference to medium throws it off balance because light itslef doesn't need a medium.