Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarvamundo
Um no, all components in the frame are not rotating. The mirrors, the source, the whole shebang are in a frame of reference.
The rotation you speak of is playing the usual relative-observer game... jumping in and out of frames to dismiss when convenient...
That link you posted is a shining example of a misunderstanding of the experiment. In this experiment, the light source, the mirrors, are all in the frame... nothing is rotating with respect to the measurements... with that link... you "jump out" and say 'ohh but the frames rotating'. Sorry, the components within the frame involved in the experiment are not rotating, they are however recording a c+v and a c-v.
Cheers,
Alex
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Oh come now Alex. You have forgotten the observer. The observer isn't rotating with the apparatus. The observer is in a fixed (inertial) frame of reference. The apparatus is rotating relative to the observer. Measurements are performed in the observer's frame of reference.
In the observer's frame of reference when the light beam travels in the same direction as rotation it has to "catch up" with the mirrors. When travelling in the opposite direction of rotation, the mirrors are "approaching" the light beam. Hence the distance covered by the light beam is different in both cases which is the cause of interference.
The velocity is c in both cases. If the total distance is s1 in one direction, and s2 in the opposite direction then the time delay (delta t) is simply
Delta t = (s1-s2)/c. Delta t is not due to the speed of light varying.
Regards
Steven