The Wave Basis of Special Relativity

I. Historical Introduction

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong. — Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia

It is important to realize that scientists never formulate theories based solely on evidence. They are also influenced by prior knowledge and understanding (or misunderstanding). What follows here is a short summary of developments related to the theory of Special Relativity, based largely on works by Whittaker [1951, 1954].

Early attempts at a wave theory of light presumed that light waves propagate through a universal medium in the same manner as sound waves through air. This medium was dubbed the luminiferous ‘aether’. Christian Huygens [1690] [Figure I–1] published an explanation of reflection and refraction based on the principle that each surface of a wave front can be regarded as a source of secondary waves. Huygens also discovered that birefringent crystals can separate light rays into two distinct components, called polarizations.

Figure I–1: Christian Huygens (1629 - 1695)

Isaac Newton [Figure I–2], among others, doubted the wave hypothesis in part because it could not explain this property of polarization. Nonetheless Newton did perceive a similarity between color and the vibrations that produce sound tones. He also understood refraction of light rays in water well enough to explain the colors of the