Re: Relativity without tears

Dans l'article <fdj3lm$5gb$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
arnow@xxxxxxxxx (Murray Arnow) écrit:

] I was addressing Jan Lodder's statement, "it was believed," that there was
] a preferred reference frame before Einstein's 1905 paper. "Belief" meaning
] to be generally accepted was the point. I haven't seen where it was
] established and accepted that there should be a preferred reference frame.

maybe it wasn't formulated like that, but it was expected/hoped that
it was possible to detect the movement of the earth with respect to
the aether. Otherwise, how do you explain that people were surprised by
the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experience ? But I agree that talking
of a "preferred reference frame" may be a modern reformulation of this
point of view.

--
| ~~~~~~~~ Martin Ouwehand ~ Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ~ Lausanne
__|___________ Email/PGP: http://personnes.epfl.ch/martin.ouwehand ____________
Quantum mechanics raises not a single fresh metaphysical problem [M. Gardner]

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