Experiments on light?
in [Relativity]
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From: Jonah Thomas on 2 Oct 2009 11:11 I woke up with a sudden thought. For a few dollars I can buy a diffraction grating that's much much better than the one Newton used. And for a few dollars I can buy a laser that's much much better than the one Michelson used. And for a few dollars more I can buy a sheet of polaroid that's far better than the one Fresnel used. It ought to be pretty cheap and easy to replicate the old experiments, given modern technology. I got excited. I looked around the house. We had one place that would be perfect, a pretty long distance, half of it a narrow corridor, I could open the bedroom door to get more distance if needed, a mirror already mounted at the far end. Perfect! Particularly at night. Maybe I could show the results to my kids, they might be interested. So I went to my wife and asked her. "Honey, I was thinking I'd like to do some laser experiments, and the hall would be just perfect for it, would you mind if I set up some stuff there?" She laughed. "That's perfect! I like it! My husband wants to set up a laser lab in our hall. I'm going to dine out on that story for months." "OK, so you don't mind?" "Are you serious?! Hell no! Lasers around my kids? I like to joke about you being a mad scientist making death rays but no." "You don't mind the kids teasing the cat with lasers." "That's different." Maybe it isn't so easy after all.
From: doug on 2 Oct 2009 12:28 Jonah Thomas wrote: > I woke up with a sudden thought. > > For a few dollars I can buy a diffraction grating that's much much > better than the one Newton used. > > And for a few dollars I can buy a laser that's much much better than the > one Michelson used. > > And for a few dollars more I can buy a sheet of polaroid that's far > better than the one Fresnel used. > > It ought to be pretty cheap and easy to replicate the old experiments, > given modern technology. I got excited. I looked around the house. We > had one place that would be perfect, a pretty long distance, half of it > a narrow corridor, I could open the bedroom door to get more distance if > needed, a mirror already mounted at the far end. Perfect! Particularly > at night. Maybe I could show the results to my kids, they might be > interested. > > So I went to my wife and asked her. "Honey, I was thinking I'd like to > do some laser experiments, and the hall would be just perfect for it, > would you mind if I set up some stuff there?" > > She laughed. "That's perfect! I like it! My husband wants to set up a > laser lab in our hall. I'm going to dine out on that story for months." > > "OK, so you don't mind?" > > "Are you serious?! Hell no! Lasers around my kids? I like to joke about > you being a mad scientist making death rays but no." > > "You don't mind the kids teasing the cat with lasers." > > "That's different." > > Maybe it isn't so easy after all. Do some experiments and have some fun. You are exactly correct that the tools we have to work with now are so much nicer than those the pioneers had in their areas. Some tthings do not change much though, like the requirement for temperature stability in the MMX experiment. That is where the money is today in duplicating that experiment. Of course, you could always do it badly and get results like Cahill and the others he likes to quote.
From: Androcles on 2 Oct 2009 11:58 "Jonah Thomas" <jethomas5(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:20091002111112.30caf4a9.jethomas5(a)gmail.com... >I woke up with a sudden thought. > > For a few dollars I can buy a diffraction grating that's much much > better than the one Newton used. > > And for a few dollars I can buy a laser that's much much better than the > one Michelson used. > Which laser did Michelson use? > And for a few dollars more I can buy a sheet of polaroid that's far > better than the one Fresnel used. > > It ought to be pretty cheap and easy to replicate the old experiments, > given modern technology. Yes, it is. > I got excited. I looked around the house. We > had one place that would be perfect, a pretty long distance, half of it > a narrow corridor, I could open the bedroom door to get more distance if > needed, a mirror already mounted at the far end. Perfect! Particularly > at night. Maybe I could show the results to my kids, they might be > interested. > > So I went to my wife and asked her. "Honey, I was thinking I'd like to > do some laser experiments, and the hall would be just perfect for it, > would you mind if I set up some stuff there?" > > She laughed. "That's perfect! I like it! My husband wants to set up a > laser lab in our hall. I'm going to dine out on that story for months." > > "OK, so you don't mind?" > > "Are you serious?! Hell no! Lasers around my kids? I like to joke about > you being a mad scientist making death rays but no." > > "You don't mind the kids teasing the cat with lasers." > > "That's different." > > Maybe it isn't so easy after all. So get a better wife or do without one. Hookers are far cheaper. Problem solved. <shrug> I have a laser light source, a set of mirrors at the corners of a rectangle, and a phototransistor all hanging about 9" below my living room ceiling. It works like this: http://www.androcles01.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lightclock.gif It used to have a set of frequency dividers for a clock display, but I got bored, didn't finish it and now it is collecting cobwebs. PS... shh...don't tell Humpty Roberts.
From: Salmon Egg on 2 Oct 2009 13:19 In article <20091002111112.30caf4a9.jethomas5(a)gmail.com>, Jonah Thomas <jethomas5(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I woke up with a sudden thought. > > For a few dollars I can buy a diffraction grating that's much much > better than the one Newton used. > > And for a few dollars I can buy a laser that's much much better than the > one Michelson used. > > And for a few dollars more I can buy a sheet of polaroid that's far > better than the one Fresnel used. I do not think this post is serious, but I saw no smilies. Nevertheless the feats of procurement described merely apply 20th century progress to earlier ones. Bill -- Private Profit; Public Poop! Avoid collateral windfall!
From: Jonah Thomas on 2 Oct 2009 14:24
"Androcles" <Headmaster(a)Hogwarts.physics_o> wrote: > "Jonah Thomas" <jethomas5(a)gmail.com> wrote > >I woke up with a sudden thought. > > > > For a few dollars I can buy a diffraction grating that's much much > > better than the one Newton used. > > > > And for a few dollars I can buy a laser that's much much better than > > the one Michelson used. > > > Which laser did Michelson use? That's a minor detail. You know lasers have gotten a lot better and cheaper than they were in his day. Also polaroids and diffraction gratings. Do you know how much Newton had to pay for his crappy diffraction grating? I read that Newton told somebody -- I think it was his cleaning lady -- how much he paid for a prism, and she laughed at him. He asked her how much she thought it was worth and she said he should have paid according to the weight of the glass, of course. |