The Ether
Electromagnetic radiation (purveyors of light and heat) passes from the sun to the earth and takes a finite time to do so. It follows that energy continually exists in interplanetary space and consequently, the vehicle (the empty space) that contains it must, in some way be material in nature. Thus, matter of ‘some form’, must fill the gap between the sun and the earth, i.e. ‘the ether’. Little is known of this form of matter and, in fact, it may be incorrect to class it as matter as it differs greatly from any other matter we perceive with our senses. It might be considered as a continuous incompressible fluid or as a highly elastic solid. In 1906 Handrik Lorentz made the comment,
“I cannot but regard
the ether, which can be the seat of an electromagnetic field with its energy
and vibrations. as endowed with a certain degree of
substantiality. however different it may be from
ordinary matter”.
There are other observable facts that suggest the existence of ether. It would appear impossible for the sun to attract planets without the means of some connecting medium. The same applies to magnetic and electric fields, which require a medium that will support large stresses in apparently, empty space. Thus, on the one hand, the planets appear to revolve around the sun unimpeded as though through a medium more fluid than a perfect gas. On the other hand the transverse vibrations to which the medium would be subjected during the passage of electromagnetic rays would require the ether to have enormous rigidity
Later in 1928 in Leiden Albert Einstein stated,
“According to the general theory of relativity, space without ether is unthinkable; for in such space there would not only be no propagation of light, but also no possibility existence for standards of space and time. But this ether may not be thought of as endowed with the quality characteristics of matter, as consisting of parts (particles) which may be tracked through time. The idea of motion may not be applied to it”.
It is clear we know little or nothing about the ether, it still may or may not exist and the present assumption is that, at least in its projected from, it does not exist. However, its assumed absence still leaves us with a number of uncomfortable uncertainties.