If true, this messes everything up
Now, what would happen if the constant character of the speed of light ever came to be doubted---and there is every likelihood that it will be sooner or later---so that the one fixed pivot of Einstein's theory would fall down? The whole modern conception of the universe would immediately dissolve like a mirage."--
The basis of Einstein's theory of relativaty is that the speed of light, in the same medium, is measured the same for each user regardless of their relative motion. Note that the speed can change as it passes through different substances, like a prism, or as it passes near gravitational influences. There is nothing special about the actual speed, the special thing is that the speed is the same whether the source or the measurement equipment is at relative rest, or in relative motion (hence the theory's name). In other words, if the speed of light were changing it would not invalidate Einstein's theory, it would just make some of the calculations a bit more complicated.
That said, the tiny evidence for a changing speed over time is more likely the result of improved measurement, but basic science is always a good thing to study.
TP |
