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- Title
O ÉTER E A ÓPTICA DOS CORPOS EM MOVIMENTO: A TEORIA DE FRESNEL E AS TENTATIVAS DE DETECÇÃO DO MOVIMENTO DA TERRA, ANTES DOS EXPERIMENTOS DE MICHELSON E MORLEY (1818-1880).
- Authors
de Andrade Martins, Roberto
- Abstract
Both in teaching and in popularization of the theory of relativity one frequently finds descriptions of the 1887 experiment by Michelson e Morley as the experimental evidence that showed the impossibility of measuring the speed of the Earth relative to the ether, thereby triggering the development of the special theory of relativity. That version is simplistic and distorts the historical facts, besides presenting an implicitly inadequate message regarding the process of Science development. This article presents a description of a large number of the 19th century proposed and/or actual experiments, before the experiments of Michelson and Morley, attempting to detect the motion of the Earth relative to the ether. The paper also presents the relation between those experiments and the development of physical concepts and theories of that period, with special emphasis on Augustin Fresnel's ether theory. Acquaintance with those precedents allows one to exhibit the complexity of the historical situation before the rise of the theory of relativity, besides conveying some relevant messages concerning the nature of science.
- Subjects
RELATIVITY (Physics); EARTH (Planet); SPEED; ETHER (Anesthetic); FRESNEL, Augustin Jean, 1788-1827; MICHELSON-Morley experiment; MICHELSON, Albert A. (Albert Abraham), 1852-1931; MORLEY, Edward Williams, 1838-1923
- Publication
Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino de Física, 2012, Vol 29, Issue 1, p52
- ISSN
1677-2334
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5007/2175-7941.2012v29n1p52