Stephen Hawkin wrote a book called "On the shoulders of Giants"
He implies that the advancement of science is through incremental changes"
This includes the work of the early Greeks.
As for the Michelson-Morley experiment, it failed to prove or disprove the existence of the ether.
It was made of full and half mirrors and an eye piece to measure 1/4 wavelengths of light inteference patterns. It was called the Michelson interferometer.
It was used very successfully in various esoteric experiments, such as the butterfly bending the steel girder and remains my favourite piece of equipment. Very simple and easy to make.
