Abstract
As was to be expected, the announcement which appeared in the press last summer (NATTJBE, 130, 25, July 2; 277, Aug. 20, 1932) to the effect that the latest experiments indicated a periodic variation in the velocity of light, has been construed in the sense that some seasonal instrumental error was at work. Science Service now issues an official confirmation of this view, given by the Mount Wilson authorities. The report adds that the best value for the velocity of light is now 299,774 km./sec. and that further analysis is only likely to change the last figure by one or two units. The present investigation of the velocity of light is being carried out by Pease and Pearson, who are continuing Michelson's work and using the well-known rotating mirror method. It will be remembered that when Michelson used long base lines between mountain peaks, he found that irregularities in atmospheric refraction—the astronomer's “bad seeing”—interfered with the definition of the reflected image. The base is now in vacuo, in a pipe line a mile in length. To obtain more accurate results, it would be necessary to build a more stable pipe line, use quartz mirrors and employ elaborate timing devices.
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Velocity of Light. Nature 133, 169 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133169b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133169b0