Michelson Morley Experiment Questions

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Very Short Answers Questions [1 Mark Questions]

Ques. Which of the following was one of the conclusions of the Michaelson Morley experiment?

1. Light propagates at different speeds in different directions
2. All laws of physics remain invariant in all inertial frames
3. The velocity of light in free space is constant
4. Ether has no observable properties

Ans. The correct answer is d. Ether has no observable properties

Explanation: The aim of the Michaelson Morley experiment was to determine the time difference from which the relative velocity of ether and the earth might be inferred. However, no change was noticed. As a result, it was demonstrated that ether has no observable properties and that the velocity of light is constant in all directions.

Ques. The result of the Michaelson Morley experiment was as expected.

1. True
2. False

Ans. The correct answer is b. False

Explanation: When the Michaelson Morley experiment was carried out, it was expected that light would travel at various speeds in different directions as seen from Earth. However, the outcome showed different.

Ques. The device used in the Michaelson Morley experiment was

1. Plain Grating
2. Telescope
3. Prism
4. Interferometer

Ans. The correct answer is d. Interferometer

Explanation: To measure the fringe shift that happens when light is transmitted in multiple directions, an interferometer was used in the Michaelson Morley experiment. It is a device used to measure the interference characteristics of light waves.

Ques. The fringes of equal inclination produced by using the Michelson Interferometer are called as

1. Haidinger’s Fringes
2. Michelson’s Fringes
3. Equi-inclination Fringes
4. Morley’s Fringes

Ans. The correct answer is a. Haidinger’s Fringes

Explanation: The Michelson Interferometer is used to obtain fringes of equal inclination. These are known as Haidinger's fringes. The fringes are all concentric circles.

Ques. How much shift was expected in the Michelson-Morley experiment?

1. 0.01
2. 0.02
3. 0.03
4. 0.04

Ans. The correct answer is d. 0.04

Explanation: Michelson created a unique instrument with significantly greater precision than any previous device. It was known as the Michelson Interferometer. A fringe shift of 0.04 was predicted using a light of wavelength 600 nm.

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Short Answers Questions [2 Marks Questions]

Ques. What are interferometers?

Ans. Interferometers are devices used to measure the interference characteristics of light waves. It provides extremely exact and precise measurements. It was utilized in the Michaelson Morley experiment for this reason, to measure the fringe shift that happens when light is transmitted in multiple directions.

Ques. Who developed the interferometer?

Ans. Albert Michelson created an interferometer to calculate the speed of the Earth using ether and to determine the shifting pattern of light.

Ques. What are the components of an interferometer?

Ans. The followings are the components of an interferometer

• Movable mirror
• Coherent light source
• Beam splitter
• Screen
• Beam splitter reference mirror

Ques. What was the aim of the Hoek experiment?

Ans. The Hoek experiment was performed to detect interferometric fringe changes caused by speed differences of opposingly moving light waves in water (at rest). Similar testing produced negative results.

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Long Answers Questions [3 Marks Questions]

Ques. Give a brief about the Michelson–Morley experiment.

Ans. The Michelson–Morley experiment was a controlled experiment designed to identify the presence of aether, a hypothetical material filling in space that was thought to be the carrier of electromagnetic waves (visible light, radio waves, and so on). 

• Albert Michelson and Edward Morley conducted this experiment between April and July 1887.
•  In November 1887, the study article was published.

Ques. What is meant by aether in physics?

Ans. Aether, sometimes known as luminiferous ether, is a hypothesized universal substance proposed in the nineteenth century as a supporting medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves or waves (e.g., X-rays and light), similar to how sound waves travel through elastic media such as air.

Ques. What was the exact experimental result of the Michelson–Morley experiment?

Ans. The Michelson–Morley experiment was conducted by Morley and Michelson, two physicists, who expected the light to move at various speeds while moving in different directions, but they found no significant distinguishing fringes that indicated a distinct velocity in any orientation or position of the Earth.

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Very Long Answers Questions [5 Marks Questions]

Ques. What were the main assumptions about aether before the Michelson–Morley experiment?

Ans. The Earth rotates around the Sun at a speed of around 30 km/s. Because the Earth is always in motion, two main possibilities were assumed: 

1. According to Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1818), the aether is immobile and only partially pulled by the Earth.
2. Sir George Stokes (1844) proposed that this ether is totally pulled by the Earth and hence shares its movement at the Earth's surface.

Later, James Clerk Maxwell understood light's electromagnetic nature and developed what is now known as Maxwell's equations. However, such mathematical connections were still characterized as explaining the travel of waves through an unknown ether (aether). Finally, the scientific world preferred Augustin-Jean Fresnel's notion of a stationary aether (nearly) because it looked to be supported by the Fizeau experiment and the aberration of light from stars (1851).

Ques. Give a brief about the comparison conducted by the Michelson–Morley experiment.

Ans. In order to determine the relative mobility of substances through the immovable luminiferous aether, the Michelson-Morley experiment measured the speed of light in perpendicular directions. 

• Morley and Michelson found no substantial difference between the speed of light in the motion's direction through the imagined aether (ether) and the speed at right angles in their experiment. 
• The ultimate finding is widely regarded as the first conclusive proof against the aether idea. 
• It also started a fresh line of inquiry that led to the contemporary idea of relativity (which rules out the possibility of an immobile aether).

Ques. Which are the other experiments similar to the Michelson–Morley experiment?

Ans. Michelson-Morley experiments have been attempted several times, with various levels of success. 

• Experiments like this were carried out between 1902 and 1905, as well as a series of experiments carried out in the 1920s. 
• Experiments using optical resonators have proved the lack of any form of aether wind at levels ranging from 10 to 17. 
• Michelson-Morley-type tests, together with the Kennedy-Thorndike and Ives-Stilwell experiments, are the fundamental tests of special relativity.

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