Michelson-Morley experiment

Michelson-Morley experiment

(ˌmaɪkəlsənˈmɔːlɪ) n (General Physics) an experiment first performed in 1887 by A. A. Michelson and E. W. Morley, in which an interferometer was used to attempt to detect a difference in the velocities of light in directions parallel and perpendicular to the earth's motion. The negative result was explained by the special theory of relativity

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Michelson-Morley experiment - a celebrated experiment conducted by Albert Michelson and Edward Morley; their failure to detect any influence of the earth's motion on the velocity of light was the starting point for Einstein's theory of relativityexperiment, experimentation - the act of conducting a controlled test or investigation