ether theory

Ether theory proposed that space was filled with a substance called "ether," acting as a medium for light waves, similar to how air carries sound. Scientists believed that light needed a medium to travel through, unlike sound which requires air or water. They thought ether was an invisible, all-pervasive fluid that enabled electromagnetic waves to propagate across space. However, experiments like the Michelson-Morley experiment failed to detect such an ether, leading to its decline. Modern physics explains light as traveling through the vacuum of space without needing a medium, rendering the ether concept obsolete.