Michelson–Morley experiment

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

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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/michelsonmorley-experiment

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. How big is Michelson–Morley experiment?Luminiferous aether
2. What is the date of publication?November 1887
3. What is the instrument?Michelson interferometer
4. What were Michelson and Morley trying to find with their experiment?They were looking for a hidden wind called the aether wind that would make light travel at different speeds in different directions.
5. How did the experiment use light to test for the aether wind?They split one beam of light with a half‑silvered mirror, sent the two beams straight across from each other, reflected them back, and then looked for changes in the pattern when the beams recombined.

Luminiferous Aether: A hypothetical, all-pervading medium once believed to be necessary for the propagation of light waves through space.
Interferometer: An optical instrument that uses the interference of light waves to measure small distances or detect changes in refractive index.
Null Result: An experimental outcome where the expected effect or difference is not observed, often leading to new theoretical insights.
Special Relativity: Einstein's theory that describes the relationship between space and time, postulating the constancy of the speed of light for all inertial observers.