Contra Double Star Experiment
Sven Gelbhaar
31 October 2008
Willem De Sitter conducted a study of double stars in 1913 wherein he
observed double stars hoping to see a warped image of them that he
anticipated would emerge if the speed of light is variable. (1) He
reasoned that if the speed of light is variable, that the photons emitted
when the stars was coming into our general direction would interfere with
those coming toward us with the star in retrograde.
[Figure 1]
This however would not happen if the speed of light isn’t constant, for the
two sets of photons would never have a chance to interfere with one another
until they reach us, because the orbit of stars, like the orbit of planet
Earth, is elliptical in nature – they don’t just oscillate on the Z plane,
but rather there is movement on the X and/or Y plane as well. The two sets
of photons would never intersect until reaching us unless two microscopic
photons collide and happen to veer toward us as a result, but with the
distance involved and the size of photons this would be the exception not
the rule, and all things considered we probably wouldn’t notice.
This experiment, and an identical one in 1977 (1) are the only proof we
have of the constancy in the speed of light. Considering it was based on a
faulty premise, the conclusion we erroneously reached as a result needs to
be thrown out. Where does this leave us? I believe the default position
to take is the Simple Emission Theory, also known as the Ballistic Theory
of Light. (2)
References
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Sitter_double_star_experiment 31 October
2008 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_theory 31 October 2008