Luminiferous aether, often referred to simply as "aether" or "ether," was a historical scientific concept that posited the existence of a medium through which light waves were thought to propagate. This hypothetical substance was believed to fill all of space and act as a carrier for electromagnetic waves, much like sound waves travel through air. The concept arose in the 19th century as scientists sought to explain the propagation of light, which was understood to behave like a wave.
Can you just imagine what if luminiferous aether was one single fixed rigid body? This is apparently what Maxwell believed, Subtle is the Lord by Abraham Pais (1982) page 111 quoting his entry to Encyclopedia Britannica:Then it would provide a natural space coordinate for the entire universe!
There can be no doubt that the interplanetary and interstellar spaces are not empty but are occupied by a material substance or body, which is certainly the largest, and probably the most uniform, body of which we have any knowledge.
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