Re: The Aether?
- From: "harry" <harald.vanlintelButNotThis@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 17:46:53 +0200
"Tom Roberts" <tjroberts137@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:AT5Ai.13310$4w7.13117@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Paul V. wrote:
In a way, I suppose the cosmic background does form an ether...
Not in any sensible way. Because the ether is supposed to be the medium
which propagates electromagnetic radiation, while the CMBR _IS_ such
radiation. You mix levels of structure here, which is hopeless.
Some ether advocates claim that the CMBR "marks out" the ether frame,
because they suppose it most naturally is isotropic in the ether frame.
This does not have the fatal flaw of claiming the CMBR "is" the ether, but
it is not supported by any experiments, either.
Certainly, it would be possible to detect a velocity with respect to the
background.
Sure. One merely observes the dipole of the CMBR -- it is zero in a unique
frame at each point of the universe. Note that different points in general
have different dipole=0 frames.
If the background is as isotropic as it appears to be from our
measurements, background radiation observed coming from the direction of
travel will be blueshifted, while light measured coming from behind will
be redshifted.
Yes. The sun is moving approximately 370 km/s relative to the CMBR's local
dipole=0 frame.
Calculation of an absolute velocity relative to the background then
becomes a matter of arithmetic.
Well, observation and computation. And one must remember that this is a
PUN on "absolute" -- some aspects of that word apply, but others do not.
For instance, there is no indication at all that the laws of physics are
"special" in this frame.
All fine except for that last comment: "absolute" in the old, traditional
sense of the word, as used by Newton corresponds to the dictionary meaning
of "viewed independently; not comparative or relative; ultimate; intrinsic"
(Newton also had it correspond to "real"). Thus not a "pun" at all! And
note: I did NOT find the meaning of "special" in the dictionary.
Regards,
Harald
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