Essential University Physics (3rd Edition)
3rd Edition
ISBN: 9780134202709
Author: Richard Wolfson
Publisher: PEARSON
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Textbook Question
Chapter 33, Problem 1FTD
Why was the Michelson-Morley experiment a more sensitive test of motion through the ether than independent measurements of the
Expert Solution & Answer
To determine
The reason why the Michelson-Morley experiment is said to be a more sensitive test of motion through ether than independent measurements of speed of light in two perpendicular directions.
Answer to Problem 1FTD
The interference pattern in Michelson-Morley experiment denotes the existence of ether; it can be treated as a sensitive test of motion through ether than independent measurements of speed of light in two perpendicular directions.
Explanation of Solution
Michelson-Morley experiment was intended to check whether the existence of relative motion between Earth and ether. If it exists, speed of light in different direction should be different. From the experiment, it is proved that there is no relative motion between earth and ether. So, the speed of light is same in all directions. In other words, it proves the absence of ether.
Michelson-Morley experiment obtained this result from the interference pattern formed by two perpendicular light beams. If there is a phase shift between the beams, implies the relative velocity between the earth and ether. In the experiment, the phase shift was negligibly small, means no relative motion exists between the earth and ether. The interference pattern in Michelson-Morley experiment has strong correlation with motion through ether. This is why the Michelson-Morley experiment is said to be a sensitive test of motion through ether than independent measurements of speed of light in two perpendicular directions.
Conclusion: Therefore, the interference pattern in Michelson-Morley experiment denotes the existence of ether; it can be treated as a sensitive test of motion through ether than independent measurements of speed of light in two perpendicular directions.
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Chapter 33 Solutions
Essential University Physics (3rd Edition)
Ch. 33.2 - Prob. 33.1GICh. 33.4 - Triplets A and B board spaceships and head away...Ch. 33.5 - A comet plunges into the planet Jupiter. At the...Ch. 33.7 - The rest energy of a proton is 938 MeV. Without...Ch. 33 - Why was the Michelson-Morley experiment a more...Ch. 33 - Why was it necessary to repeat the...Ch. 33 - Prob. 3FTDCh. 33 - Does relativity require that the speed of sound be...Ch. 33 - Time dilation is sometimes described by saying...Ch. 33 - If youre in a spaceship moving at 0.95c relative...
Ch. 33 - The Andromeda Galaxy is 2 million light years from...Ch. 33 - Prob. 8FTDCh. 33 - Prob. 9FTDCh. 33 - The rest energy of an electron is 511 keV. Whats...Ch. 33 - An atom in an excited state emits a burst of...Ch. 33 - The quantity EB is invariant. What does this say...Ch. 33 - An airplane makes a round trip between two points...Ch. 33 - Consider a Michelson-Morley experiment with 11-m...Ch. 33 - Two stars are 50 ly apart, measured in their...Ch. 33 - How long would it take a spacecraft traveling at...Ch. 33 - A spaceship passes by you at half the speed of...Ch. 33 - An extraterrestrial spacecraft whizzes through the...Ch. 33 - How fast would you have to move relative to a...Ch. 33 - A hospitals linear accelerator produces electron...Ch. 33 - Prob. 21ECh. 33 - At what speed will the momentum of a proton (mass...Ch. 33 - Prob. 23ECh. 33 - A particle is moving at 0.90c. If its speed...Ch. 33 - Find (a) the total energy and (b) the kinetic...Ch. 33 - At what speed will the relativistic and Newtonian...Ch. 33 - Show that the time of Equation 33.2 is longer than...Ch. 33 - Youre designing a Michelson interferometer in...Ch. 33 - Earth and Sun are 8.3 light minutes apart, as...Ch. 33 - Youre the communications officer on a fast...Ch. 33 - You wish to travel to a star N light years from...Ch. 33 - The nearest star beyond our solar system is about...Ch. 33 - Twins A and B live on Earth. On their 20th...Ch. 33 - Radioactive oxygen-15 decays at such a rate that...Ch. 33 - Two distant galaxies are receding from Earth at...Ch. 33 - Two spaceships are racing. The slower one passes...Ch. 33 - Use relativistic velocity addition to show that if...Ch. 33 - Earth and Sun arc 8.33 light minutes apart. Event...Ch. 33 - Youre writing a galactic history involving two...Ch. 33 - Repeat Problem 39, now assuming that civilization...Ch. 33 - Could there be observers who would judge the two...Ch. 33 - Could there be observers who would judge the two...Ch. 33 - The Curiosity rover touched down on Mars when...Ch. 33 - Derive the Lorentz transformations for time from...Ch. 33 - In the light box of Fig. 33.6, let event A be the...Ch. 33 - Youre a consultant for the director of a sci-fi...Ch. 33 - How fast would you have to go to reach a star 240...Ch. 33 - An advanced civilization has developed a spaceship...Ch. 33 - A spaceship travels at 0.80c from Earth to a star...Ch. 33 - Use Equation 33.6 to calculate the square of the...Ch. 33 - A light beam is emitted at event A and arrives at...Ch. 33 - Compare the momentum changes needed to boost a...Ch. 33 - Event A occurs at x = 0 and t = 0 in reference...Ch. 33 - When a particle's speed doubles, its momentum...Ch. 33 - Find (a) the speed and (b) the momentum of a...Ch. 33 - Prob. 56PCh. 33 - A large city consumes electrical energy at the...Ch. 33 - In a nuclear-fusion reaction, two deuterium nuclei...Ch. 33 - Find the kinetic energy of an electron moving at...Ch. 33 - Find the speed of an electron with kinetic energy...Ch. 33 - Use the binomial approximation (Appendix A) to...Ch. 33 - Prob. 62PCh. 33 - Show from the Lorentz transformations that the...Ch. 33 - Prob. 64PCh. 33 - Prob. 65PCh. 33 - The highest-energy cosmic rays ever detected are...Ch. 33 - When an objects speed increases by 5%, its...Ch. 33 - Use the Lorentz transformations to show that if...Ch. 33 - A source emitting light with frequency f moves...Ch. 33 - Equation 33.5a transforms the velocity u of an...Ch. 33 - Consider a relativistic particle of mass m moving...Ch. 33 - Find the speed of a particle whose relativistic...Ch. 33 - Its the 24th century, and you're a curator at the...Ch. 33 - Consider a line of positive charge with line...Ch. 33 - Prob. 75PCh. 33 - Youve been named captain of NASAs first...Ch. 33 - Youve been named captain of NASAs first...Ch. 33 - Youve been named captain of NASAs first...Ch. 33 - Youve been named captain of NASAs first...
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