Aether: Speaking of Nothing

Water waves are movements in water, so light waves are movements in… aether.

At least that was the leading theory in the 18th century. Sounds simple enough but nailing down what this aether is leads to curious properties. In truth light waves are quite different from water waves in many respects including that their speed is constant no matter how fast you yourself are going.

The history of aether theory is tied to the emergence of both quantum theory and relativity. It records how scientists struggled to let go of their intuition and see the reality of space and time in a new light. Join us on our mission to understand the true nature of light and listen to this week’s episode of Good in Theory.