Unexplored Aspect of Velocity of light

TL;DR

This paper discusses the historical measurement of the speed of light, its significance in Einstein's theory of relativity, and proposes a low-cost experiment to test how solar gravity affects light speed, aiming to verify aspects of general relativity.

Contribution

It introduces a new low-cost experimental proposal to measure the influence of solar gravity on the speed of light, aiming to test Einstein's predictions.

Findings

Historical measurements of light speed established its finite value.

Proposes an experiment to measure light speed near the sun.

Aims to verify Einstein's and Remodeled Relativity Theory's predictions.

Abstract

In the post-Maxwellian era, sensing that the tide of discoveries in electromagnetim indicated a decline of the mechanical view, Einstein replaced Newton's three absolutes -- space, time and mass, with a single one, the velocity of light. The magnitude of the velocity of light was first determined and proven to be finite independently by Ole Romer and Bradley in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, Fizeau carried out the first successful measurement of the speed of light using an earthbound apparatus. Thereafter, many earthbound experiments were conducted for its determination till 1983, when its magnitude was frozen at a fixed value after it was determined up to an accuracy level of a fraction of a meter per second. Einstein considered the speed of light derived from terrestrial experiments, to be the limiting speed of all natural phenomena. Einstein stated in connection with his general relativity theory that light rays could curve only when the velocity of propagation of light varies with position. Experiments have been conducted to prove the phenomenon of light deflection to higher and higher accuracy levels, but none so far to determine the speed of light at locations closer to the sun. To verify some essential aspects of general relativity, NASA had commendably planned many costly experiments. Hence, NASA can now be expected to expeditiously plan and execute the low cost experiment proposed here, so as to conclusively verify the effect of the solar gravitational field on the speed of light, as regards the important predictions of Einstein's theory of gravitation and of its remodeled form -- the Remodeled Relativity Theory, which retained and incorporated only experimentally proven concepts and principles.