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What did the Michelson-Morley interferometer experiment fail to detect, leading scientists to conclude that no such medium exists?
AAn ether medium filling empty space
BA vacuum inside the interferometer
CA magnetic field around Earth
DA change in the color of light
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. An ether medium filling empty space
1. Scientists expected Earth's motion through a proposed ether medium to shift the interference pattern in the apparatus.
2. No shift was seen, which led to two conclusions: there is no ether, and light's speed does not depend on the relative motion of source and observer.
3. A vacuum inside the device, a magnetic field around Earth, and a color change are not what the experiment was testing for.
4. So failing to detect an ether medium is correct.
_Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 10 "Special Relativity", section 10.1 Postulates of Special Relativity_
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