Famous Figures of Lorentz–Ether Theory (LET)

Woldemar Voigt

Physicist • 1850–1919

• Introduced transformations in 1887 resembling later Lorentz transformations, aiming to preserve wave equations in moving frames.
• His work was a precursor that influenced Lorentz’s more systematic approach.

George Francis FitzGerald

Physicist • 1851–1901

• Suggested in 1889 that objects contract in the direction of motion through the aether.
• This hypothesis explained the Michelson–Morley result and laid the groundwork for Lorentz’s contraction theory.

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz

Physicist • 1853–1928

• Formulated the full Lorentz transformations, reconciling Maxwell’s equations with motion through the aether.
• Proposed length contraction and "local time" to preserve electromagnetic theory.
• Shared the Nobel Prize (1902) for work on radiation and electron theory.

Joseph Larmor

Physicist • 1857–1942

• In Aether and Matter (1900) predicted both time dilation and length contraction from an aether model.
• Known for Larmor precession; viewed relativity effects as physical consequences of aether dynamics.

Oliver Heaviside

Physicist & Engineer • 1850–1925

• Reformulated Maxwell’s equations into their modern vector form.
• Explored electromagnetic mass and velocity dependence, anticipating later relativity discussions.

George Gabriel Stokes

Physicist • 1819–1903

• Proposed a dragged aether model to explain optical phenomena.
• His ideas provided contrast with Lorentz’s stationary aether model.

Henri Poincaré

Mathematician & Physicist • 1854–1912

• Refined the relativity principle and stressed conventionality of simultaneity in clock synchronization.
• Placed Lorentz’s equations in a group-theoretic framework; foreshadowed spacetime geometry.
• Suggested the aether might be undetectable in principle, bridging LET and relativity.

Albert A. Michelson & Edward W. Morley

Physicists • 1852–1931 & 1838–1923

• Performed the famous Michelson–Morley experiment (1887), showing no detectable aether wind.
• The null result motivated contraction hypotheses and was pivotal for both LET and relativity.

William Lane Craig

Philosopher • 1949–

• Advocates a neo-Lorentzian interpretation aligned with presentism (objective present).
• Appeals to cosmology, such as the CMB rest frame, as potential support for a preferred time frame.
• Controversial in physics; influence mainly in philosophy of time debates.

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