Ether Drift Theory

Ether Drift Theory proposed that a mysterious substance called "ether" filled space, serving as a medium for light waves to travel, similar to how air supports sound. It suggested that Earth's movement through this ether would cause detectable changes in the speed of light, known as "ether drift." However, experiments like the Michelson-Morley experiment failed to find such variations, leading to the decline of this theory. Modern physics instead explains light's behavior through the principles of special relativity, which do not require an ether, rendering the concept obsolete.