Ether-drift experiments using opposed masers are examined from the point of view that, if molecules contain indigenous radiation, a maser beam might be idealized as a stream of light clocks. According to a recently developed theory of the light clock, in which relativistic Doppler frequencies are developed from a classical ether model augmented by the Fitzgerald contraction, no effect from ether drift is expected, so that the null result of the experiments is in accord with this version (...) of the ether theory. (shrink)

This chapter discusses the roles of ether and electrons in relativity theory. One of the most radical moves made by Albert Einstein was to dismiss the ether from electrodynamics. His fellow physicists felt challenged by Einstein’s view, and they came up with a variety of responses, ranging from enthusiastic approval, to dismissive rejection. Among the naysayers were the electron theorists, who were unanimous in their affirmation of the ether, even if they agreed with other aspects of Einstein’s (...) theory of relativity. The eventual success of the latter theory (circa 1911) owed much to Hermann Minkowski’s idea of four-dimensional spacetime, which was portrayed as a conceptual substitute of sorts for the ether. (shrink)

Debates over the nature, status, and explanatory scope of various ethers were widespread among seventeenth- and eighteenth-century natural philosophers. This article argues that an important feature of Kant’s mature natural philosophy is its attempt to combine these issues with the Leibnizian problem of the relation between fundamental and derivative forces. On the one hand, Kant employs the framework of fundamental and derivative forces to structure the disparate phenomena that were at stake in the ether debates. On the other hand, (...) the ether is central to his explanation of the relation between fundamental and derivative forces. After examining the relevant texts and surveying different interpretative options, the article argues that Kant favours an ether-based account of the relationship between fundamental and derivative forces. The account is fleshed out through the case of cohesive force, which I show to be an effect not of the pressure of the ether but of differences in its oscillatory motion. (shrink)

Bender, Robert Review of: Ether day: The strange tale of America's greatest medical discovery and the haunted men who made it, by Julie M. Fenster, Harper/Collins, NY, 2001, 278 pages.

John Dewey's second chapter of _Art as Experience_, "Ethereal Things," captures in a nutshell a radically new approach to philosophy where the aesthetic takes center stage. The key is to see the aesthetic as something much broader than it is generally conceived. It covers not just art and nature, or even art, nature, and everyday life, but life itself, and in particular human life. But human life is seen as continuous with the life of the animal, the live creature interacting (...) with its environment. Experience begins with sense perception that is, itself, a negotiation of past and present, where things are imbued with meaning as cause and effect are turned into intention and consequence. Experience also has a range going from mere mechanical perception and labeling towards something much more complex. The highest culmination of experience is a mystic-like consummation, a point at which experience is a joyous reward of expanding and enriched life. Dewey speaks of "the power of sense to absorb the most highly spiritualized ideas." One can see him, in this regard, as the opposite of Plato, for whom the sensuous world, at best, imitates the world of Ideas. For Dewey, ethereal things are not eliminated but, rather, brought into the world of sense. (shrink)

In this paper we review the evolution of the concept of “ vacuum ” according to different theories formulated in the last century, like Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Electrodynamics, Quantum Chromodynamics in Particle Physics and Cosmology. In all these theories a metastable vacuum state is considered which transforms from one state to another according to the energy taken into consideration. It is a “fluid” made up by matter and radiation present in the whole Universe, which may be identified with a modern (...) definition of ether. (shrink)

The paper considers the symmetries of a bit of information corresponding to one, two or three qubits of quantum information and identifiable as the three basic symmetries of the Standard model, U(1), SU(2), and SU(3) accordingly. They refer to “empty qubits” (or the free variable of quantum information), i.e. those in which no point is chosen (recorded). The choice of a certain point violates those symmetries. It can be represented furthermore as the choice of a privileged reference frame (e.g. that (...) of the Big Bang), which can be described exhaustively by means of 16 numbers (4 for position, 4 for velocity, and 8 for acceleration) independently of time, but in space-time continuum, and still one, 17th number is necessary for the mass of rest of the observer in it. The same 17 numbers describing exhaustively a privileged reference frame thus granted to be “zero”, respectively a certain violation of all the three symmetries of the Standard model or the “record” in a qubit in general, can be represented as 17 elementary wave functions (or classes of wave functions) after the bijection of natural and transfinite natural (ordinal) numbers in Hilbert arithmetic and further identified as those corresponding to the 17 elementary of particles of the Standard model. Two generalizations of the relevant concepts of general relativity are introduced: (1) “discrete reference frame” to the class of all arbitrarily accelerated reference frame constituting a smooth manifold; (2) a still more general principle of relativity to the general principle of relativity, and meaning the conservation of quantum information as to all discrete reference frames as to the smooth manifold of all reference frames of general relativity. Then, the bijective transition from an accelerated reference frame to the 17 elementary wave functions of the Standard model can be interpreted by the still more general principle of relativity as the equivalent redescription of a privileged reference frame: smooth into a discrete one. The conservation of quantum information related to the generalization of the concept of reference frame can be interpreted as restoring the concept of the ether, an absolutely immovable medium and reference frame in Newtonian mechanics, to which the relative motion can be interpreted as an absolute one, or logically: the relations, as properties. The new ether is to consist of qubits (or quantum information). One can track the conceptual pathway of the “ether” from Newtonian mechanics via special relativity, via general relativity, via quantum mechanics to the theory of quantum information (or “quantum mechanics and information”). The identification of entanglement and gravity can be considered also as a ‘byproduct” implied by the transition from the smooth “ether of special and general relativity’ to the “flat” ether of quantum mechanics and information. The qubit ether is out of the “temporal screen” in general and is depicted on it as both matter and energy, both dark and visible. (shrink)

This paper applies concepts Deleuze developed in his ‘Postscript on the Societies of Control’, especially those relating to modulatory power, dividuation and control, to aspects of Australian schooling to explore how this transition is manifesting itself. Two modulatory machines of assessment, NAPLAN and My Schools, are examined as a means to better understand how the disciplinary institution is changing as a result of modulation. This transition from discipline to modulation is visible in the declining importance of the disciplinary teacher–student relationship (...) as a measure of the success of the educative process. The transition occurs through seduction because that which purports to measure classroom quality is in fact a serpent of modulation that produces simulacra of the disciplinary classroom. The effect is to sever what happens in the disciplinary space from its representations in a luminiferous ether that overlays the classroom. (shrink)

My object is to question a recurrent claim made to the point that Thomas Reid (1710–1796) was hostile to ether theories and that this hostility had its source in his distinctive interpretation of the first of Newton's regulæ philosophandi. Against this view I will argue that Reid did not have any quarrel at all with unobservable or theoretical entities as such, and that his objections against actual theories concerning ether were scientific rather than philosophical, even when based on (...) Newton's first rule. I argue further that Reid's insistence on Newton's rule concerns, not direct observation, but rather the notion of explanation itself. (shrink)

Assuming, with Hasok Chang, that the history and philosophy of science can contribute to scientific knowledge, particularly when it is a matter of disposing of groundless or useless notions, I examine the case of the luminiferous ether, and seek to ascertain what factors may have kept it alive until 1905, when Einstein declared it superfluous.

The basic evidence and doctrines of physics and astronomy are examined and found to contain a simple, consistent unitary nature. It is proposed that all physical phenomena may be better explained in terms of a single physical entity if one accepts a conceptual advancement of presently accepted doctrine. The modification postulates that the inertial mass of matter is the same entity as the virtual mass of a photon and that a circular motion of speedc is transformed into a linear motion (...) of speedc when mass is transformed into energy. The logical expansions of the modification seem to give simpler explanations for basic phenomena and the infinite and eternal nature of the universe. (shrink)

Scientists working on the wave theory of light in the 19 th century took it for granted that there had to be a medium for the propagation of light waves. This medium was called the luminiferous [= “light carrying”] ether. One of the central questions about this medium concerned its state of motion. There were two options: (1) The ether is completely undisturbed by matter moving through it (stationary or immobile ether); (2) Matter drags along the (...) class='Hi'>ether in its vicinity and/or in its interior (dragged-along ether). Stellar aberration provided the main argument for the first option (even though a special dragging effect in the case of transparent matter had to be built into the theory to account for refraction). Polarization provided the main argument for the second option. These two options and the arguments pro and con will be explained in more detail below. (shrink)

A summary is presented of the subquantum kinetics ether methodology, a type of unified field theory that successfully predicts a large number of physical phenomena. This utilizes a new approach to theory development that emphasizes the use of system theory and places theory development as primary and observation as secondary. The rationale is given for adopting an open system, process-based view of the physical universe and for choosing the Model G reaction system as a prospective “genetic code” for the (...) physical universe. Model G is shown to provide a viable model for the creation of subatomic particles from zero-point energy fluctuations. (shrink)

Scientists working on the wave theory of light in the 19th century took it for granted that there had to be a medium for the propagation of light waves. This medium was called the luminiferous [= “light carrying”] ether. One of the central questions about this medium concerned its state of motion. There were two options: (1) The ether is completely undisturbed by matter moving through it (stationary or immobile ether); (2) Matter drags along the ether (...) in its vicinity and/or in its interior (dragged-along ether). Stellar aberration provided the main argument for the first option (even though a special dragging effect in the case of transparent matter had to be built into the theory to account for refraction). Polarization provided the main argument for the second option. These two options and the arguments pro and con will be explained in more detail below. (shrink)

The considerations of the two former articles concerning the special and general theories of relativity are extended. The question of the physical reality of the ether and the interpretation of some cosmological problems are discussed. A view is expanded according to which the metric tensor g is taken as the energy momentum tensor of the ether. The gravitational equation of Einstein is considered to represent the equations of motion of the ether. The cosmological red shift is also (...) interpreted in such terms. (shrink)

The Schrödinger and Klein-Gordon equations for free, structureless particles are derived classically from two different continuum approximations to a Boltzmann equation for the trace component of a mixture. The majority component is designated as the ether. Deviations from these continuum approximations (rarefied ether) yield deviations from the Schrödinger and Klein-Gordon equations which are shown explicitly.

Using the optical ether as a case study, this article advances four lines of consideration to show why synchronic versions of the divide et impera strategy of scientific realism are unlikely to work. The considerations draw from the nineteenth-century theories of light, the rise of surprising implication as an epistemic value from the time of Fresnel on, assessments of the ether in end-of-century reports around 1900, and the roots of ether theorizing in now superseded metaphysical assumptions. The (...) typicality of the case and its impact on diachronic versions of the strategy are briefly discussed. (shrink)

Recent literature on Kant’s Opus postumum has typically focused on two parts of the drafts: the ether proofs and the Selbstsetzungslehre. Eckart Förster’s interpretation is representative of this tendency and, moreover, presents the Selbstsetzungslehre as the culmination of Kant’s late project. By contrast, I argue that the drafts of fascicles X/XI, written in between the ether proofs and the Selbstsetzungslehre, are of primary importance for understanding the Opus postumum. Through a close reading of a page from fascicle XI, (...) I show that Kant attempts to resolve problems internal to the Selbstsetzungslehre and the ether proofs by presenting a transition from the former to the latter. I advocate a renewed appreciation of the centrality of fascicles X/XI, insofar as the Opus postumum drafts aspire to a science of transition. (shrink)

For Kant, a body fills out space by means of its causal efficacy. The essential properties of matter are hence dependent on underlying forces and it is one task of the Opus postumum (OP) to reconstruct the system of forces. In order to avoid an infinite regress of causal explanations, this system of forces needs to account for a primitive origin of all mechanical moving forces in something that is constitutive of forces, yet radically different - this is the (...) class='Hi'>ether that fills all space that constantly moves or vibrates all the parts of the material bodies internally. I argue that we can read Kant’s argument for the existence of the ether through the lens of dispositions: essential properties of matter, such as ponderability, coercibility, cohesibility, and exhaustibility, should be understood as dispositions. These dispositions are ‘physically conditioned,’ as Kant calls it, on the ether. To display their manifest and perceivable properties, the ether acts as the ubiquitous and universal ‘activation stimulus’ of the dispositions that make up material bodies. He causes them to constantly display their manifest properties that make them continuously perceivable and causally efficient. Thereby Kant offers a solution to a problem formulated by Simon Blackburn, namely that purely dispositional matter would lead us into skepticism. (shrink)

First published in 1933, this is Sir Oliver Lodge's defence of the luminiferous ether against the new physics of relativity.

The intersection between quantum theory, metaphysical spirituality, and Indian-inspired philosophy has an established place in speculative scientific and alternative religious communities alike. There is one term that has historically bridged these two worlds: “Akasha,” often translated as “ether.” Akasha appears both in metaphysical spiritual contexts, most often in ones influenced by Theosophy, and in the speculative scientific discourse that has historically demonstrated a strong affinity for the brand of monistic metaphysics that Indian-derived spiritualities tend to foster. This article traces (...) the relationship between these groups with special attention to the role of Indian concepts and terminology. More specifically, it argues that Akasha-as-ether comes to operate in a manner that bridges gross matter with the notion of a subtle material and transpersonal mind—a version of panpsychism allowing for a coherent quantum monism. (shrink)

ArgumentIn this paper I follow the demise of the ether in the first half of the twentieth century to show how the first obituaries of the ether were instrumental in creating an object with specific and largely simplified properties related to, but different from, nineteenth-century ethers. I suggest that writing the history of dead objects (or objects an author wants to be dead) is not epistemologically neutral but, on the contrary, it involves a reformulation of the object itself. (...) I show that this was indeed the case with the ether: those arguing for its demise in the early twentieth century tended to overlook as irrelevant one of the ether’s most important properties, namely being the seat for the transmission of electromagnetic waves. Instead, they emphasized the contradictions between other properties of previous ether(s), so as to advocate for its disappearance. (shrink)

This paper addresses and proposes to resolve a longstanding problem in the philosophy of physics: whether and in what sense Albert Einstein’s Chasing the Light thought experiment was significant in the development of the theory of special relativity. Although Einstein granted this thought experiment pride of place in his 1949 Autobiographical Notes, philosophers and physicists continue to debate about what, if anything, the experiment establishes. I claim that we ought to think of Chasing the Light as Einstein’s first attempt to (...) problematize the very idea of the electromagnetic ether frame, and that it thereby contributed to his eventual adoption of one of special relativity’s two foundational axioms: the “light postulate”. This interpretation requires the assumption that Einstein had presupposed special relativity’s other axiom, the “principle of relativity”, when initially considering Chasing the Light. This argument is novel insofar as it provides evidence that such a presupposition by Einstein is both conceptually and historically plausible. Moreover, this paper directly challenges John D. Norton’s compelling claim that Chasing the Light is best understood as a refutation of emission theories of light propagation; while both interpretations of the experiment are conceptually coherent, I argue that the interpretation found in this paper is supported more straightforwardly by historical evidence. (shrink)

Fresnel's theory of light was (a) impressively predictively successful yet (b) was based on an "entity" (the elastic-solid ether) that we now "know" does not exist. Does this case "confute" scientific realism as Laudan suggested? Previous attempts (by Hardin and Rosenberg and by Kitcher) to defuse the episode's anti-realist impact. The strongest form of realism compatible with this case of theory-rejection is in fact structural realism. This view was developed by Poincare who also provided reasons to think that it (...) is the only realist view of theories that really makes sense. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that the case of Einstein׳s special relativity vs. Hendrik Lorentz׳s ether theory can be decided in terms of empirical evidence, in spite of the predictive equivalence between the theories. In the historical and philosophical literature this case has been typically addressed focusing on non-empirical features. I claim that non-empirical features are not enough to provide a fully objective and uniquely determined choice in instances of empirical equivalence. However, I argue that if we consider arguments (...) proposed by Richard Boyd, and by Larry Laudan and Jarret Leplin, a choice based on non-entailed empirical evidence favoring Einstein׳s theory can be made. (shrink)

In the course of the history of science, some concepts have forged theoretical foundations, constituting paradigms that hold sway for substantial periods of time. Research on the history of explanations of the action of one body on another is a testament to the periodic revival of one theory in particular, namely, the theory of ether. Even after the foundation of modern Physics, the notion of ether has directly and indirectly withstood the test of time. Through a spontaneous physics (...) philosophical analysis, this article will explore how certain aspects of the concept of ether have appeared in different branches of the history of science. (shrink)

In 1885, Thomas Edison added to his already substantial tally of 141 patents in telegraphy, a patent for sending telegraph messages without wires. This invention, he claimed, would enable communication “between distant points … by induction without the use of wires connecting such distant points” (Fig. 8.1). Despite Edison’s patent predating Heinrich Hertz’s electromagnetic radiation experiments by 3 years and Guglielmo Marconi’s wireless telegraphy by ten, Edison did nothing with the invention. Given Edison’s ability to make much of very little, (...) as he did with the Phonograph, it was uncharacteristic that he did not exploit this revolutionary invention and become known as the inventor of wireless telegraphy. Instead of developing it, Edison sold the patent rights to Marconi. The reason for Edison’s ambivalence is to be found in a controversial incident 10 years earlier. (shrink)