Re:Question about the aether

Peter Ammon ( pa44@cornell.edu )
Wed, 5 Apr 2000 02:12:14 -0400

>Hi Folks:
>
>Peter Ammon wrote:
><<
>>And as Jerry pointed out in a recent post, a laser ring gyro, which is
>>commonly used for navigation, has differing speeds of the light beams in
>>various relative directions, and can be used to indicate the direction change
>>of the vehicle in which it resides. (conventional empty space has a hard time
>>explaining this)
>
>I am pretty sure that the Sagnac effect, which is responsible for the
>phenomena you describe, is well understood and accounted for by special
>relativity. For example, I found http://mathpages.com/rr/s2-07/2-07.htm
>
>which agrees with my understanding.
>>>
>
>So you are agreeing with this hodgepodge/paradox/silliness?
>
>Perhaps my feeble little brain is confused, but upon reading the paper at the
>above link, it states that a ring laser gyro, both does, and does not,
>violate SR. And it both does, and does not, violate the speed of light
>constraint imposed by SR.

I see plenty of "does not" but no "does." It does give some reasons why
people might THINK it violates SR or has light moving faster than c, and
then it proceeds to explain why those reasons are incorrect.

>
>AND it appears to violate Einstein's own analogy - that an observer on the
>ground, and two test volunteers, one also fixed on the ground, and the other
>on a moving train, both shining flashlights at the observer - Mr. E. states
>that the observer will see the same speed of light from both the moving
>source and the (relative to observer) fixed one.
>
>Now you say that if two light beams are moving opposite to each other in a
>ring laser, that their speed is not the same?

Their speed is the same, but one of them has farther to go before it can
reach the detector, so the elapsed time is different.

>
>You cannot use the spurious argument that the distance of the counter
>rotating beam is more than the co rotating beam, as the moving train example
>is also changing distance in the same manner!!!!!

The difference is that the ring laser gyro is rotating, and so is
accelerating. The train is not accelerating in your example. Einstein
says that all inertial reference frames will measure the same speed for
light, but the rotating gyro is not inertial, and the speed of light is not
necessarily isotropic for noninertial reference frames.

>
>This kind of blindly accepted dogma of conventional science is exactly why I
>for one do not take on faith anything that anyone says regarding what is
>accepted!

It's not blindly accepting dogma, though. It's understanding of what
special relativity is saying, and how to apply that to this specific
example. Special relativity can account for the Sagnac effect.

>
>I propose, as I am sure many others do, that if there is a paradox as a
>result of a theory, you have not got the theory right!

The other possibility is, of course, that there is no paradox.

-Peter

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