ETHER : how light travels through vacuum
HOW LIGHT TRAVELS THROUGH VACUUM ?
Anything, should have a medium to go anywhere in universe. Nothing (a particle or an
object) can travel from a point (let’s say A) to another point (say B) without
any medium. For example, in the space two astronauts can’t hear each other’s
sound, as there is no medium, sound waves can’t travel in space. But light is
the only wave that can travel even in space or rather vacuum. But how ??
Before Einstein :
Before the Einstein period, scientists believed in “Ether”
concept. Maxwell’s theory predicted that radio or light waves should travel at
a certain fixed speed. It was therefore suggested that there was a substance
called the ‘ether’ that is present everywhere, even in 'empty’ space or vacuum.
Light waves should travel trough the ether as sound waves travel through air. And
the speed of light should therefore be relative to the ether. Different
observers, moving relative to the ether, would see light coming towards them at
different speeds, but light’s speed relative to the ether would remain fixed.
From Einstein :
The great scientist Albert Einstein pointed out that the
whole idea of ether was unnecessary. Actually light has dual-nature. Light is
an electromagnetic radiation composed of particles called photons. So light has
two different natures, one is wave nature and another is particle nature. When light
travels through any medium it behaves like wave by vibrating. In the other
hand, light behaves like a particle while travelling through vacuum.
Comments
Post a Comment