The Ethereal Aether

Pursuit and inquisitive reasons

“…Moreover, attempting to explain away anomalies can result in the development of new ideas or experimental methods. For instance, Morley's pursuit of evidence for the luminiferous ether, even after the original Michaelson-Morley experiment famously failed to do so, resulted in large improvements in experimental design that were fruitful for other purposes (Swenson 1972).…”

Georg Joos’ Experimentum Crucis in Jena 1930 and the Fall of the Ethereal Aether

“…After World War I, a public obsession with relativity began. Einstein became a world celebrity: “Post‐war idealism found in Einstein not only a perfect symbol of a man above the battle, but also a theoretician of a new world order.” [ 12 ] The ballyhoo in the yellow press and misleading popularizations of Einstein's theory angered scientists such as Dayton C. Miller (1866–1941) of Case School in Cleveland, Ohio, and inspired him to repeat the Michelson–Morley experiment with higher precision at Mount Wilson Observatory, near Pasadena, California, at 1734 m above sea level. [ 13 ] In May 1921, Einstein learned about Miller's experiments and is reported to have commented on these results with the classical words “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not.” [ 13 ] Nevertheless, on 25th May, he also came out to Case to see the site of the classical Michelson–Morley experiment and to discuss the problem of aether‐drift tests with Miller.…”