Timeline of special relativity and the speed of light

Last updated

Albert Einstein and Hendrik Lorentz in 1921 in Leiden Einstein en Lorentz.jpg
Albert Einstein and Hendrik Lorentz in 1921 in Leiden

This timeline describes the major developments, both experimental and theoretical, of:

Contents

This list also mentions the origins of standard notation (like c) and terminology (like theory of relavity).

Criteria for inclusion

Task Force One, the world's first nuclear-powered task force. Enterprise, Long Beach and Bainbridge in formation in the Mediterranean, 18 June 1964. Enterprise crew members are spelling out Einstein's mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc on the flight deck. USS Enterprise (CVAN-65), USS Long Beach (CGN-9) and USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25) underway in the Mediterranean Sea during Operation Sea Orbit, in 1964.jpg
Task Force One, the world's first nuclear-powered task force. Enterprise, Long Beach and Bainbridge in formation in the Mediterranean, 18 June 1964. Enterprise crew members are spelling out Einstein's mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc on the flight deck.

Theories other than SR are not described here exhaustively, but only to the extent that is directly relevant to SR – i.e. at points when they:

For a more detailed timeline of aether theories – e.g. their emergence with the wave theory of light – see a separate article. Also, not all experiments are listed here – repetitions, even with much higher precision than the original, are mentioned only if they influence or challenge the opinions at their time. It was the case with:

For lists of repetitions, see the articles of particular experiments. The measurements of speed of light are also mentioned only to the minimum extent, i.e. when they proved for the first time that c is finite and invariant. Innovations like the use of Foucault's rotating mirror or the Fizeau wheel are not listed here – see the article about speed of light.

This timeline also ignores, for reasons of volume and clarity:

Before the 19th century

A redrawn version of the illustration from the 1676 news report. Romer compared the apparent duration of Io's orbits as Earth moved towards Jupiter (F to G) and as Earth moved away from Jupiter (L to K). Illustration from 1676 article on Ole Romer's measurement of the speed of light.jpg
A redrawn version of the illustration from the 1676 news report. Rømer compared the apparent duration of Io's orbits as Earth moved towards Jupiter (F to G) and as Earth moved away from Jupiter (L to K).

19th century

Before 1880s

1880s

Michelson and Morley's interferometric setup, mounted on a stone slab that floats in an annular trough of mercury Michelson morley experiment 1887.jpg
Michelson and Morley's interferometric setup, mounted on a stone slab that floats in an annular trough of mercury

1890s

20th century

Hermann Minkowski, who introduced the spacetime formalism to special relativity in 1908. Hermann Minkowski Portrait.jpg
Hermann Minkowski, who introduced the spacetime formalism to special relativity in 1908.

1900s

1910s

Schematic representation of a Sagnac interferometer. Sagnac interferometer.svg
Schematic representation of a Sagnac interferometer.

1920s and 1930s

After 1930s

21st century

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminiferous aether</span> Obsolete postulated medium for the propagation of light

Luminiferous aether or ether was the postulated medium for the propagation of light. It was invoked to explain the ability of the apparently wave-based light to propagate through empty space, something that waves should not be able to do. The assumption of a spatial plenum of luminiferous aether, rather than a spatial vacuum, provided the theoretical medium that was required by wave theories of light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special relativity</span> Theory of interwoven space and time by Albert Einstein

In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory of the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 treatment, the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates:

  1. The laws of physics are invariant (identical) in all inertial frames of reference.
  2. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of light source or observer.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theory of relativity</span> Two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein

The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to the forces of nature. It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelson–Morley experiment</span> 1887 experiment that failed to detect a supposed medium carrying light waves

The Michelson–Morley experiment was an attempt to measure the relative motion of the Earth and the luminiferous aether, a supposed medium permeating space that was thought to be the carrier of light waves. The experiment was performed between April and July 1887 by American physicists Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and published in November of the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woldemar Voigt</span> German physicist

Woldemar Voigt was a German physicist, who taught at the Georg August University of Göttingen. Voigt eventually went on to head the Mathematical Physics Department at Göttingen and was succeeded in 1914 by Peter Debye, who took charge of the theoretical department of the Physical Institute. In 1921, Debye was succeeded by Max Born.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy–Thorndike experiment</span> Modified form of the Michelson–Morley experiment, testing special relativity

The Kennedy–Thorndike experiment, first conducted in 1932 by Roy J. Kennedy and Edward M. Thorndike, is a modified form of the Michelson–Morley experimental procedure, testing special relativity. The modification is to make one arm of the classical Michelson–Morley (MM) apparatus shorter than the other one. While the Michelson–Morley experiment showed that the speed of light is independent of the orientation of the apparatus, the Kennedy–Thorndike experiment showed that it is also independent of the velocity of the apparatus in different inertial frames. It also served as a test to indirectly verify time dilation – while the negative result of the Michelson–Morley experiment can be explained by length contraction alone, the negative result of the Kennedy–Thorndike experiment requires time dilation in addition to length contraction to explain why no phase shifts will be detected while the Earth moves around the Sun. The first direct confirmation of time dilation was achieved by the Ives–Stilwell experiment. Combining the results of those three experiments, the complete Lorentz transformation can be derived.

Emission theory, also called emitter theory or ballistic theory of light, was a competing theory for the special theory of relativity, explaining the results of the Michelson–Morley experiment of 1887. Emission theories obey the principle of relativity by having no preferred frame for light transmission, but say that light is emitted at speed "c" relative to its source instead of applying the invariance postulate. Thus, emitter theory combines electrodynamics and mechanics with a simple Newtonian theory. Although there are still proponents of this theory outside the scientific mainstream, this theory is considered to be conclusively discredited by most scientists.

The timeline of luminiferous aether or ether as a medium for propagating electromagnetic radiation begins in the 18th century. The aether was assumed to exist for much of the 19th century—until the Michelson–Morley experiment returned its famous null result. Further experiments were in general agreement with Michelson and Morley's result. By the 1920s, most scientists rejected the aether's existence.

Special relativity is a physical theory that plays a fundamental role in the description of all physical phenomena, as long as gravitation is not significant. Many experiments played an important role in its development and justification. The strength of the theory lies in its unique ability to correctly predict to high precision the outcome of an extremely diverse range of experiments. Repeats of many of those experiments are still being conducted with steadily increased precision, with modern experiments focusing on effects such as at the Planck scale and in the neutrino sector. Their results are consistent with the predictions of special relativity. Collections of various tests were given by Jakob Laub, Zhang, Mattingly, Clifford Will, and Roberts/Schleif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagnac effect</span> Relativistic effect due to rotation

The Sagnac effect, also called Sagnac interference, named after French physicist Georges Sagnac, is a phenomenon encountered in interferometry that is elicited by rotation. The Sagnac effect manifests itself in a setup called a ring interferometer or Sagnac interferometer. A beam of light is split and the two beams are made to follow the same path but in opposite directions. On return to the point of entry the two light beams are allowed to exit the ring and undergo interference. The relative phases of the two exiting beams, and thus the position of the interference fringes, are shifted according to the angular velocity of the apparatus. In other words, when the interferometer is at rest with respect to a nonrotating frame, the light takes the same amount of time to traverse the ring in either direction. However, when the interferometer system is spun, one beam of light has a longer path to travel than the other in order to complete one circuit of the mechanical frame, and so takes longer, resulting in a phase difference between the two beams. Georges Sagnac set up this experiment in an attempt to prove the existence of the aether that Einstein's theory of special relativity had discarded.

In the 19th century, the theory of the luminiferous aether as the hypothetical medium for the propagation of light waves was widely discussed. The aether hypothesis arose because physicists of that era could not conceive of light waves propagating without a physical medium in which to do so. When experiments failed to detect the hypothesized luminiferous aether, physicists conceived explanations, which preserved the hypothetical aether's existence, for the experiments' failure to detect it.

The history of special relativity consists of many theoretical results and empirical findings obtained by Albert A. Michelson, Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré and others. It culminated in the theory of special relativity proposed by Albert Einstein and subsequent work of Max Planck, Hermann Minkowski and others.

In physics, aether theories propose the existence of a medium, a space-filling substance or field as a transmission medium for the propagation of electromagnetic or gravitational forces. "Since the development of special relativity, theories using a substantial aether fell out of use in modern physics, and are now replaced by more abstract models."

What is now often called Lorentz ether theory (LET) has its roots in Hendrik Lorentz's "theory of electrons", which marked the end of the development of the classical aether theories at the end of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Trouton–Rankine experiment was an experiment designed to measure if the Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction of an object according to one frame produced a measurable effect in the rest frame of the object, so that the ether would act as a "preferred frame". The experiment was first performed by Frederick Thomas Trouton and Alexander Oliver Rankine in 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relativity priority dispute</span> Debate about priority credit for the theory of special relativity

Albert Einstein presented the theories of special relativity and general relativity in publications that either contained no formal references to previous literature, or referred only to a small number of his predecessors for fundamental results on which he based his theories, most notably to the work of Henri Poincaré and Hendrik Lorentz for special relativity, and to the work of David Hilbert, Carl F. Gauss, Bernhard Riemann, and Ernst Mach for general relativity. Subsequently, claims have been put forward about both theories, asserting that they were formulated, either wholly or in part, by others before Einstein. At issue is the extent to which Einstein and various other individuals should be credited for the formulation of these theories, based on priority considerations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fizeau experiment</span> Experiment measuring the speed of light in moving water

The Fizeau experiment was carried out by Hippolyte Fizeau in 1851 to measure the relative speeds of light in moving water. Fizeau used a special interferometer arrangement to measure the effect of movement of a medium upon the speed of light.

Test theories of special relativity give a mathematical framework for analyzing results of experiments to verify special relativity.

The experiments of Rayleigh and Brace were aimed to show whether length contraction leads to birefringence or not. They were some of the first optical experiments measuring the relative motion of Earth and the luminiferous aether which were sufficiently precise to detect magnitudes of second order to v/c. The results were negative, which was of great importance for the development of the Lorentz transformation and consequently of the theory of relativity. See also Tests of special relativity.

Criticism of the theory of relativity of Albert Einstein was mainly expressed in the early years after its publication in the early twentieth century, on scientific, pseudoscientific, philosophical, or ideological bases. Though some of these criticisms had the support of reputable scientists, Einstein's theory of relativity is now accepted by the scientific community.

References

  1. Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Eppenstein, Otto (1911). "Aberration". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 1 (11th ed.). pp. 54–61.
  2. Rømer, Ole (30 September 1677), "Lettre Nº 2104", in Bosscha, J. (ed.), Œuvres complètes de Christiaan Huygens (1888–1950). Tome VIII: Correspondance 1676–1684, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff (published 1899), pp. 32–35. (in Latin)
  3. Wróblewski, Andrzej (1985), "de Mora Luminis: A spectacle in two acts with a prologue and an epilogue", Am. J. Phys., 53 (7): 620–30, Bibcode:1985AmJPh..53..620W, doi:10.1119/1.14270
  4. Arago, A. (1810–1853), "Mémoire sur la vitesse de la lumière, lu à la prémière classe de l'Institut, le 10 décembre 1810", Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, 36: 38–49
  5. Fresnel, A. (1818), "Lettre de M. Fresnel à M. Arago sur l'influence du mouvement terrestre dans quelques phénomènes d'optique", Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 9: 57–66 (Sep. 1818), 286–7 (Nov. 1818); reprinted in H. de Senarmont, E. Verdet, and L. Fresnel (eds.), Oeuvres complètes d'Augustin Fresnel, vol.2 (1868), pp.627–36; translated as "Letter from Augustin Fresnel to François Arago, on the influence of the movement of the earth on some phenomena of optics" in K.F. Schaffner, Nineteenth-Century Aether Theories, Pergamon, 1972 ( doi : 10.1016/C2013-0-02335-3), pp.125–35; also translated (with several errors) by R.R. Traill as "Letter from Augustin Fresnel to François Arago concerning the influence of terrestrial movement on several optical phenomena", General Science Journal, 23 January 2006 (PDF, 8pp.).
  6. Stokes, George Gabriel (1845), "On the Aberration of Light"  , Philosophical Magazine, 27 (177): 9–15, doi:10.1080/14786444508645215
  7. Fizeau, H. (1851). "Sur les hypothèses relatives à l'éther lumineux". Comptes Rendus. 33: 349–355.
    English: Fizeau, H. (1851). "The Hypotheses Relating to the Luminous Aether, and an Experiment which Appears to Demonstrate that the Motion of Bodies Alters the Velocity with which Light Propagates itself in their Interior"  . Philosophical Magazine. 2: 568–573.
  8. Hoek, M. (1868). "Determination de la vitesse avec laquelle est entrainée une onde lumineuse traversant un milieu en mouvement"  . Verslagen en Mededeelingen. 2: 189–194.
  9. Airy, G.B. (1871). "On the Supposed Alteration in the Amount of Astronomical Aberration of Light, Produced by the Passage of the Light through a Considerable Thickness of Refracting Medium". Proceedings of the Royal Society. 20 (130–138): 35–39. Bibcode:1871RSPS...20...35A. doi: 10.1098/rspl.1871.0011 . Archived from the original on 2012-05-15.
  10. Michelson, Albert Abraham (1881), "The Relative Motion of the Earth and the Luminiferous Ether"  , American Journal of Science, 22 (128): 120–129, Bibcode:1881AmJS...22..120M, doi:10.2475/ajs.s3-22.128.120, S2CID   130423116
  11. Lange, L. (1885). "Über die wissenschaftliche Fassung des Galileischen Beharrungsgesetzes". Philosophische Studien. 2: 266–297.
  12. Lange, L. (1885). "Über das Beharrungsgesetz. Berichte über Verhandlungen der Königlich Sächsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften". Mathematisch-physikalische Klasse. Leipzig: 333–351.
  13. Voigt, W. (1887), "Ueber das Doppler'sche Princip (On the Principle of Doppler)", Göttinger Nachrichten (7): 41–51; Reprinted with additional comments by Voigt in Physikalische ZeitschriftXVI, 381–386 (1915).
  14. Lord Rayleigh (1902). "Does Motion through the Aether cause Double Refraction?"  . Philosophical Magazine. 4: 678–683. doi:10.1080/14786440209462891.
  15. Olinto De Pretto (1903). "Ipotesi dell'etere nella vita dell'universo (Hypothesis of Aether in the Life of the Universe)". "Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti" (The Royal Veneto Institute of Science, Letters and Arts). LXIII (II): 439–500. (Accepted November 23, 1903 and printed February 27, 1904.)
  16. F. T. Trouton and H. R. Noble, "The mechanical forces acting on a charged electric condenser moving through space," Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A202, 165181 (1903).
  17. F. T. Trouton and H. R. Noble, "The Forces Acting on a Charged Condenser moving through Space. Proc. R. Soc.74 (479): 132-133 (1903).
  18. Brace, DeWitt Bristol (1904). "On Double Refraction in Matter moving through the Aether"  . Philosophical Magazine. 7 (40): 317–329. doi:10.1080/14786440409463122.
  19. Trouton F. T., Rankine A. (1908). "On the electrical resistance of moving matter". Proc. R. Soc. 80 (420): 420–435. Bibcode:1908RSPSA..80..420T. doi: 10.1098/rspa.1908.0037 . JSTOR   19080525.
  20. Ritz, Walther (1908). "Recherches critiques sur l'Électrodynamique générale". Annales de Chimie et de Physique. 13: 145–275. Bibcode:1908AChPh..13..145R.
  21. Ehrenfest, Paul (1909), "Gleichförmige Rotation starrer Körper und Relativitätstheorie"  [ Uniform Rotation of Rigid Bodies and the Theory of Relativity ], Physikalische Zeitschrift (in German), 10: 918, Bibcode:1909PhyZ...10..918E
  22. Ignatowsky, W. v. (1910b). "Einige allgemeine Bemerkungen über das Relativitätsprinzip"  . Physikalische Zeitschrift. 11: 972–976.
  23. E. T. Whittaker (1910) A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity, page 441.
  24. Vladimir Varicak (1910) Application of Lobachevskian Geometry in the Theory of Relativity Physikalische Zeitschrift via Wikisource
  25. Alfred Robb (1911) Optical Geometry of Motion p.9
  26. Langevin, P. (1911), "The evolution of space and time", Scientia , X: 31–54 (translated by J. B. Sykes, 1973 from the original French: "L'évolution de l'espace et du temps").
  27. Laue, Max von (1911). "Über einen Versuch zur Optik der bewegten Körper". Münchener Sitzungsberichte: 405–412. English translation: On an Experiment on the Optics of Moving Bodies
  28. Silberstein L. The Theory of Relativity, MacMillan 1914
  29. Thirring, Hans (1924), "Über die empirische Grundlage des Prinzips der Konstanz der Lichtgeschwindigkeit", Zeitschrift für Physik, 31 (1): 133–138, Bibcode:1925ZPhy...31..133T, doi:10.1007/BF02980567, S2CID   121928373.
  30. Anton Lampa (1924). "Wie erscheint nach der Relativitätstheorie ein bewegter Stab einem ruhenden Beobachter?". Zeitschrift für Physik (in German). 27 (1): 138–148. Bibcode:1924ZPhy...27..138L. doi:10.1007/BF01328021. S2CID   119547027.
  31. Kennedy, R. J.; Thorndike, E. M. (1932). "Experimental Establishment of the Relativity of Time". Physical Review. 42 (3): 400–418. Bibcode:1932PhRv...42..400K. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.42.400.
  32. Dayton C. Miller, "The Ether-Drift Experiment and the Determination of the Absolute Motion of the Earth", Rev. Mod. Phys., V. 5, N. 3, pp. 203–242 (Jul 1933).
  33. G. W. Hammar (1935). "The Velocity of Light Within a Massive Enclosure". Physical Review . 48 (5): 462–463. Bibcode:1935PhRv...48..462H. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.48.462.2.
  34. H. P. Robertson and Thomas W. Noonan (1968). "Hammar's experiment". Relativity and Cosmology. Philadelphia: Saunders. pp. 36–38.
  35. Ives, H. E.; Stilwell, G. R. (1938). "An experimental study of the rate of a moving atomic clock". Journal of the Optical Society of America. 28 (7): 215. Bibcode:1938JOSA...28..215I. doi:10.1364/JOSA.28.000215.
  36. Wigner, E. P. (1939), "On unitary representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group", Annals of Mathematics , 40 (1): 149–204, Bibcode:1939AnMat..40..149W, doi:10.2307/1968551, JSTOR   1968551, MR   1503456, S2CID   121773411
  37. Robertson, H. P. (1949). "Postulate versus Observation in the Special Theory of Relativity" (PDF). Reviews of Modern Physics. 21 (3): 378–382. Bibcode:1949RvMP...21..378R. doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.21.378 .
  38. Shankland, R. S.; McCuskey, S. W..; Leone, F. C.; Kuerti, G. (April 1955). "New Analysis of the Interferometer Observations of Dayton C. Miller". Reviews of Modern Physics. 27 (2): 167–178. Bibcode:1955RvMP...27..167S. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.27.167.
  39. Dewan, Edmond M.; Beran, Michael J. (March 20, 1959). "Note on stress effects due to relativistic contraction". American Journal of Physics. 27 (7): 517–518. Bibcode:1959AmJPh..27..517D. doi:10.1119/1.1996214.
  40. Hughes, V. W.; Robinson, H. G.; Beltran-Lopez, V. (1960). "Upper Limit for the Anisotropy of Inertial Mass from Nuclear Resonance Experiments". Physical Review Letters. 4 (7): 342–344. Bibcode:1960PhRvL...4..342H. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.4.342.
  41. Drever, R. W. P. (1961). "A search for anisotropy of inertial mass using a free precession technique". Philosophical Magazine. 6 (65): 683–687. Bibcode:1961PMag....6..683D. doi:10.1080/14786436108244418.
  42. Rindler, Wolfgang (1961). "Length Contraction Paradox". American Journal of Physics. 29 (6): 365–366. Bibcode:1961AmJPh..29..365R. doi:10.1119/1.1937789.
  43. Feinberg, G. (1967). "Possibility of faster-than-light particles". Physical Review . 159 (5): 1089–1105. Bibcode:1967PhRv..159.1089F. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.159.1089.
  44. Hafele, J. C.; Keating, R. E. (July 14, 1972). "Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Predicted Relativistic Time Gains" (PDF). Science . 177 (4044): 166–168. Bibcode:1972Sci...177..166H. doi:10.1126/science.177.4044.166. PMID   17779917. S2CID   10067969. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 31, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  45. Hafele, J. C.; Keating, R. E. (July 14, 1972). "Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Observed Relativistic Time Gains" (PDF). Science . 177 (4044): 168–170. Bibcode:1972Sci...177..168H. doi:10.1126/science.177.4044.168. PMID   17779918. S2CID   37376002. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 31, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2022.

Further reading