Moderate

The existence of "Ether wind" was experimentally rejected by:

Correct answer: C. Michelson and Morley

  • A. De-Broglie
  • B. Faraday
  • C. Michelson and Morley
  • D. Einstein

Explanation

The existence of the "ether wind" was experimentally rejected by the Michelson-Morley experiment conducted by Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley in 1887. The experiment was designed to detect the motion of the Earth through the hypothetical luminiferous ether, a medium thought to be necessary for the propagation of light waves. The prevailing theory at the time suggested that light waves, being a form of electromagnetic waves, required a medium (ether) through which to propagate, similar to how sound waves propagate through air. It was hypothesized that the Earth's motion through this ether would result in an "ether wind" that could be detected. However, the Michelson-Morley experiment, based on the interference of light waves, failed to detect any significant difference in the speed of light in different directions, regardless of the Earth's motion. The null result of the experiment was surprising and had significant implications for the understanding of the nature of light and the rejection of the luminiferous ether hypothesis. The Michelson-Morley experiment played a crucial role in paving the way for Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, which eliminated the need for a stationary ether and fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and the nature of light.

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Classical physics cannot explain blackbody radiation and related observations, leading to Planck’s quantum theory, in which energy is emitted or absorbed in discrete packets. Photons provide the particle model of light, with energy and momentum linked to frequency and wavelength, including the photoelectric effect and its threshold frequency.

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