How the Michelson and Morley experiment was reinterpreted by special relativity

TL;DR

This paper explores how the Michelson-Morley experiment's interpretation changed with the advent of special relativity, highlighting the influence of theoretical assumptions on experimental understanding and the historical context of scientific theories.

Contribution

It analyzes the original formulation of special relativity and its reinterpretation of the Michelson-Morley experiment, emphasizing the role of conceptual shifts in scientific paradigms.

Findings

Special relativity reinterpreted the experiment as evidence for the invariance of light speed.

Different theoretical assumptions lead to radically different interpretations of the same experiment.

Historical context influences how experimental results are conceptualized and accepted.

Abstract

We elucidate how different theoretical assumptions bring about radically different interpretations of the same experimental result. We do this by analyzing special relativity as it was originally formulated. Then, we examine the relationship of the theory with the result of the Michelson and Morley experiment. We point out that in diverse a historical context the same experiment can be thought of as providing different conceptualizations of phenomena. This demonstrates why special relativity prevailed over its rival theories. This theory made a new reinterpretation of the experiment by associating it with a novel phenomenon, namely, the invariance of the speed of light, a phenomenon that was not the one originally investigated. This leads us to an understanding of how this experiment could have been interpreted in a completely different historical context.