
In the latest Citizen Scientist Lance Osadchey shows you how to measure the absolute motion of the earth, as Shawn from CS says it “challenges one of the bedrocks of modern science, Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity”… so just keep that in mind :)
Since a single light ray is believed to exist in its own space-time and proceed straight ahead in propagation at the speed of light and a laser ray approximates a single light ray, these rays have no, or minimal, lateral or sideways motion. Thus, it should be possible to measure the absolute motion of the Earth by (1) comparing the position of the light ray on any material object moving with the Earth, and (2) knowing the distance from the source of light to the object and the lateral displacement of the impact of the ray of light.
Equipment
- A solid, low-vibration table or optical bench.
- A solid rotating bearing.
- A rigid beam 3 meters (10 feet) in length (steel, wood or ceramic).
- A laser with positional holder.
- An optional series of lenses to retard the laser beam’s intensity.
- An optional series of lenses to direct and focus the laser beam.
- A Charged Coupled Device (CCD) to detect the laser beam connected to appropriate circuitry to record the image of the laser on the CCD and to record a series of images of the laser spot’s motion upon the detector.
- Suitable equipment to analyze the laser spots position on the image from the CCD.
The Citizen Scientist – Link.
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