Breaking symmetry through speed-induced beam-deflection via centrifugation of the light source

Abstract

The experiment proposed aims to evidence and to measure the deflection of light rays induced by the source speed upon emission, and to discern it from the aberration of light rays induced by the observer speed. The method stands in creating a speed asymmetry between that of the source and that of the observer, and relies on the centrifugation of a light source at ultrahigh speed. When source and observer have the same speed, such as when being both on the same inertial system, the deflection and the aberration compensate and their net effect is null. So, in order to circumscribe the odds of inertial systems and to isolate these speed-induced effects it has instead been appealed to a centrifugal system, since it allows infringing symmetry between the source and the observer speeds. Three cases are considered. (a) Centrifugation of the source fixed at one end of the rotor arm, while the detector is fixed on the rotor axis. This configuration of the experiment aims to unveil that due to the peripheral speed of the source the beam is deflected forward, so it impinges on the centric detector slightly shifted from its position when the system was not rotating. (b) The positions of the source and the detector are interchanged, so the source peripheral speed is then null and thus no speed-induced deflection ensues, but due to the observer peripheral speed there is a speed-induced aberration since during the beam time-of-flight the detector has slightly moved side-way. However, this time the spot shifts in opposite direction and hence the effect of centrifugation is not reciprocal. (c) The source and the detector are fixed at the two ends of the rotor arms. In this case the beam deflection and aberration add, since their speed vectors have opposite directions and each shift of the spot on the detector is double since the time-of-flight is double.