Dennis Crossley
Dennis Crossley | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Analysis of the Michelson–Morley experiment in an accelerated reference frame |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Wisconsin–Sheboygan |
Dennis Crossley is a physicist affiliated with the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Sheboygan. He is known for a re-examination of the Michelson–Morley experiment in accelerated reference frames, in which he argues that a "preferred" absolute reference frame could in principle be detected. He is listed in The Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists.
Work
In the paper "The Michelson–Morley experiment in an accelerated reference frame" (arXiv:1012.3404, published in Physics Essays 24, no. 3, 2011), Crossley analyzes the classic interferometer experiment as performed in a frame moving with constant proper acceleration rather than an inertial frame. He reports that the analysis predicts a fringe shift depending not only on the interferometer's rate of acceleration but also on its speed relative to a preferred absolute reference frame.
While it is generally accepted that no experiment performed in an inertial reference frame can detect that frame's absolute velocity, Crossley proposes that experiments carried out in accelerated reference frames might make it possible to measure such an absolute speed. This suggestion of a detectable preferred frame lies outside the mainstream interpretation of special relativity, which holds that no preferred inertial frame exists.