sci.physics.electromag

On Sep 6, 6:38 pm, Timo Nieminen wrote:
> On Thu, 6 Sep 2007, rge11x wrote:
> >

Thank you for the very thoughtful and detailed answer.

> If the ether were an ideal classical continuous medium, it would support
> vibrations at all frequencies. In thermal equilibrium, there would an
> infinite amount of energy in the high frequencies. The ether would have an
> infinite heat capacity, and would be at essentially absolute zero. Matter
> in contact with the ether - basically all matter - would very rapidly cool
> down. This is, basically, the ultraviolet catastrophe in black-body
> radiation.
>

Why do we have to assume that the "ether" is in thermal equilibrium
with anything? Since everything were to move "in it", if it existed,
how could it be in any state but in nonequilibrium? Seems to me that
we postulate nonphysical properties to a hypothetical thing and then
decide that it cannot exist because these properties are nonphysical.

I was surprised to hear that the ultraviolet catastrophe/
thermodynamics was the death blow to the ether. It was surprising to
me because there is something non-EM-ish about them; I have completely
bought into the idea that the apparent asymmetry in the moving frames
Einstein was talking about killed it.