[James]

I’m fine with deferring to David or Shiva.

[James]

Eastern

[James]

I’ll bite

[James]

Dear John-Erik,

Your assumption that there is length contraction is an ad hoc hypothesis. It is just like the assumption Lorentz and Poincaré made and that Einstein adopted. There is no physical justification for it. It just works mathematically to account for the apparent null results of Michelson-Morley type experiments. You are in effect agreeing with Einstein’s relativity. And it is too small an effect to account for the detection of Earth’s rotation by ring lasers.

Note well: The physics of the propagation of electromagnetic waves is the same no matter what instrument is used to measure it. Michelson-Gale and ring lasers can clearly detect the Earth’s rotation with respect to the ECI/local-ether. A Michelson interferometer should be able to detect this velocity too (~350 meter/second with a constant east to west direction).

According to Prof. Howard Hayden, the 1979 Brillet-Hall experiment did detect this velocity. However the experimenters dismissed the signal as “persistent and spurious” without further explanation. This was probably because they weren’t expecting it and it was small enough that they could attribute it to an unknown noise source.

Also note that an MMX in low Earth orbit would be much less expensive than big physics projects like LIGO, the LHC, dark matter detection experiments, etc. There are private companies (e.g. Rocket Lab) that will launch a spacecraft into low Earth orbit for much less than typical NASA missions cost and don’t require approval by a committee. Also, the cost and mass of a spacecraft are much lower now than even 10 years ago due to miniaturization and standardization (e.g. Cubesats). The project could probably be funded by Elon Musk for less than he makes in interest in a day.

Why be so certain of your ad hoc assumptions to dismiss the possibility of a positive result? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Moderate risk, very high reward.

Best regards,

Jim Marsen

[James]

Dear John < @Hodge >

The Local-Ether Model postulates that there is a local-ether at rest with the Earth Centered Inertial reference frame (the ECI) and this forms the “preferred” inertial reference frame for the classical propagation of all electromagnetic waves in the vicinity of the Earth (out to well beyond the Moon’s orbit). This is experimentally observed by the first order in v/c pseudo-range correction (also called a Sagnac effect) applied by all GPS receivers to the microwaves transmitted from GPS (and other) satellites.

The Local-Ether Model therefore implies that a Michelson interferometer in low Earth orbit is moving with respect to this reference frame and would experience a fringe shift due to its orbital speed of approximately 7500 meters/second.

The Local-Ether Model further implies that the speed of a terrestrial based Michelson interferometer with respect to the ECI would be due only to the Earth’s rotation – ~350 meters per second at 40 degrees latitude. This is far too small to be detectable by Miller’s interferometer or any other Michelson interferometers before the invention of lasers.

I don’t accept Dayton Miller’s 1933 claim of detecting an “ether-wind” of 20 km/sec on Mount Wilson. Shankland’s 1955 critique of Miller’s analytical technique seems valid to me. He averaged his readings to claim a precision that was not present in the raw data. If I recall, his assistants interpolated by eye a fringe shift in tenths of a fringe. But then he averaged these readings for each run to claim a precision of 1/100 of a fringe. And during a run, the fringes were drifting due to temperature changes.

Also note that according to the Local-Ether Model, there is a local-ether for the Sun/Solar system at rest with the Barycenter Inertial reference frame. This implies that a Michelson interferometer in a solar orbit would detect a greater fringe shift due to its orbital velocity of 30,000 meters per second with respect to the Sun’s local-ether – the same value expected by the 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment.

For more detailed information, I invite you to consider my paper at

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333865449_A_Michelson-Morley_Type_Experiment_Should_be_Performed_in_Low_Earth_Orbit_and_Interplanetary_Space

Also see Prof. Su’s paper (particularly section 6) at

C.C. Su, “A local-ether model of propagation of electromagnetic wave”. European Physical Journal C, 21, pp. 701-715, Sept. 2001, DOI:10.1007/s100520100759,

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.509.6294&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Best regards,

Jim Marsen

[James]

I fully support the Local-Ether Model proposed by Prof. Ching-Chuan Su and Prof. Petr Beckmann as the superior paradigm to Einstein’s Relativity. Their theories provide a path to climb out of the rabbit hole of “Albert in Wonderland” physics and back onto a path toward reality.

The theories deserve to be considered “as is”.

I urge patience. It is tempting but premature to try to define detailed physical properties for the medium such as what it is made of or the mechanics of propagating transverse waves (note that the current paradigm doesn’t even attempt to explain a physical reality for its equations). First, the orthodox physics community (or at least a significant fraction of it) needs to be convinced that there is a better paradigm that can provide viable alternative explanations of the experimental facts – particularly those cited as evidence supporting Einstein’s Relativity.

I (and others) predict that a Michelson-Morley type experiment performed in low Earth orbit or (better) solar orbit would clearly detect its orbital velocity. Also, a laser ring gyro on the same spacecraft would detect its orbital period. This is the first giant leap to escape the rabbit hole.

Everyone should ask the following question: What’s fundamentally different about the physics of the propagation of electromagnetic waves when measured by a first order instrument like a Sagnac loop interferometer versus a second order instrument like the Michelson interferometer (first order means that the magnitude of the signal is proportional to v/c while second order is proportional to v/c squared). The answer is: No Difference.

The Sagnac effect due to the rotation of the Earth with respect to the ECI is clearly detected every day by every GPS receiver. A Michelson interferometer is just a lot less sensitive to this velocity. This is because the the first order Sagnac effect is canceled due to the reflections of the orthogonal light beams but an effect proportional to (v/c) squared remains.

Best regards,

Jim Marsen

[James]

I’m meant to say: “…the pseudo-range correction used by all GPS receivers…”

[James]

Hi John-Erik,

I don’t know of any evidence for a radial flowing ether. In my opinion, the pseudo-range correction, also called a one-way linear Sagnac effect, contradicts this concept.

Best regards,

Jim Marsen