Albert A. Michelson

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/albert-a-michelson

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Albert A. Michelson born?December 19, 1852
2. When did Albert A. Michelson die?May 9, 1931 (age 78)
3. Where was Albert A. Michelson born?Strelno, Prussia (now Poland)
4. What did Albert A. Michelson measure?He measured the speed of light with great accuracy using his interferometer.
5. How did Michelson's experiment help science?The Michelson-Morley experiment found no aether wind, which helped Einstein develop his theory that light always moves at the same speed.

Interferometer: An optical instrument that uses the interference of light waves to measure wavelengths or small distances with extreme precision.
Luminiferous Aether: A hypothetical medium once believed to permeate all space and serve as the medium for the propagation of light waves.
Michelson-Morley Experiment: A landmark experiment in 1887 that failed to detect the luminiferous aether, significantly impacting the development of modern physics.
Theory of Relativity: Albert Einstein's groundbreaking theories that revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe.