The Sagnac effect as a confirmation of relativity

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Dated: 10 December 2023

Here, I describe arguments why special relativity not only does not contradict the Sagnac effect but even seems necessary to capture some aspects of the Sagnac effect. I finally got to appreciate that the Sagnac effect with a material guide for the light (rather than vacuum) poses no difficulty to special relativity but is a big obstacle to non-relativistic theories. In fact, I do not think that there is a consistent non-relativistic explanation of this variant of the Sagnac effect (I consider Lorentzian ether theory a relativistic theory). My conclusion is that the existence of the Sagnac effect (and its independence of the refractory index of the light-guiding material) give strong support to the theory of special relativity, rather than being evidence against it!

The Sagnac effect as a confirmation of relativity, 10.12.2023

Next: Doppler effect, made simple   Up: Introduction science education project    Previous: Conventionality of simultaneity, velocities

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