Does the null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment rule out the existence of the ether medium?
My understanding is that if instead of Galilean transformation, we use Lorentz transformation (i.e. the velocity of light is the same both downstream and crossstream), the fringe shift will also be zero whether or not there is an ether medium.
Best Answer
The null result of the Michelson Morley experiment rules out a rigid aether. The Michelson Gale experiment rules out a dragged aether. Currently only the Lorentz aether, which is an aether that is designed to be experimentally indistinguishable from no aether, is compatible with experiment.