= Michelson-Morley experiment
{c}
{wiki=Michelson–Morley_experiment}
An <interferometer> compares round-trip <light> travel times along perpendicular arms as its orientation changes. The absence of the classical stationary-aether fringe shift at the expected scale constrains orientation dependence of the round-trip <speed of light>. The result is consistent with <special relativity>, but alone does not select it uniquely from every alternative theory.<On the Relative Motion of the Earth and the Luminiferous Ether by Albert Abraham Michelson and Edward W. Morley>[1887 report, interferometer arrangement and comparison of predicted and observed orientation-dependent shifts]{ref}
Back to article page