The Speed of Light and the Einstein Legacy: 1905-2005

Abstract

That the speed of light is always c=300,000km/s relative to any observer in nonaccelerating motion is one of the foundational concepts of physics. Experimentally this was supposed to have been first revealed by the 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment, and was made one of Einstein's key postulates of Special Relativity in 1905. However in 2002 the actual 1887 fringe shift data was analysed for the first time with a theory for the Michelson interferometer that used both the Fitzgerald-Lorentz contraction effect, as well as the effect of the air in the interferometer on the speed of light. That analysis showed that the data gave an absolute motion speed in excess of 300km/s. So far six other experiments have been shown to give the same result. This implies that the foundations of physics require significant revision. As well data shows that both Newtonian gravity and General Relativity are also seriously flawed, and a new theory of gravity is shown to explain various so-called gravitational `anomalies', including the `dark matter' effect. Most importantly absolute motion is now understood to be the cause of the various relativistic effects, in accord with the earlier proposal by Lorentz.