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Re:I Don't Understand Quantum Physics (2018) by zmgsabst on Saturday October 24, 2026 @11:24AM (#50222175)
Also why LIGO works but Michelson-Morley failed: you can use the ruler distortion as a signal, with some caveats.

In LIGO, we detect the far away distortions propagating through our rulers and the differential effect of those waves.

But Michelson-Morley failed because the ruler distorted synchronously with the signal we tried to measure — since we mistakenly believed EM and matter were different fields.

Re:I Don't Understand Quantum Physics (2018) by senderista on Saturday October 24, 2026 @12:57PM (#50223062)
How are general-relativistic effects relevant for the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experiment?
Re:I Don't Understand Quantum Physics (2018) by aleph_minus_one on Saturday October 24, 2026 @02:49PM (#50223963)
> How are general-relativistic effects relevant for the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experiment?

General-relativistic effects are relevant for the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experiment in the sense that the general theory of relativity is a generalization of the special theory of relativity. :-)

Otherwise: the additional predictions that the general theory of relativity makes about gravity, curvature of space etc. are not relevant for the outcome of the Michelson-Morley experiment.

Re:I Don't Understand Quantum Physics (2018) by senderista on Saturday October 24, 2026 @03:10PM (#50224128)
I mean, if you're claiming that general relativity is relevant here, then you need to show that quantitatively.
Re:I Don't Understand Quantum Physics (2018) by zmgsabst on Sunday October 25, 2026 @12:21PM (#50233230)
What do you mean?

You seem to think I’ve said something very technical, while I’ve merely pointed out a well-known effect of Lorentz invariance and interferometry: you can’t detect an “aether” signal coincident with the detector, because the detector is distorted synchronously.

Michelson-Morley was never going to work because it relied on the assumption matter wasn’t subject to aether wind — which turned out to be wrong, as matter is subject to relativistic effects and fields unify. You needed that independence to generate the differential the interferometry amplified.

By contrast, LIGO measures an effect far removed and not co-moving with the detector. So it works.