Does Modern Physics Really Rule Out a Medium? Revisiting the Michelson–Morley Legacy in Light of Gravium Theory
Introduction
Modern physics abandoned the idea of a medium for light and gravity more than a century ago.
But does experimental evidence truly rule out such a medium?
Gravium theory revisits this foundational question by proposing a real, rigid medium — called gravium — that serves as the carrier of both gravity and electromagnetism.
The Case for a Medium
Light behaves like a wave in every way we can measure: it diffracts, interferes, refracts, and reflects. Classically, waves always require a medium — something that "waves." Yet modern physics claims light propagates through empty space. Photons also have momentum. How can a massless particle have momentum if there is no medium. If a photon is a wave traveling through a medium then the inertia of the medium can confer momentum to the photon, but if there is no medium, photon momentum is hard to explain. Photon momentum is discussed in chapter 6 of Action at a Distance.
It’s not just light. All particles, even matter particles like electrons, display wave-like behavior, as shown by the famous double-slit experiment and the de Broglie relation. If everything propagates as a wave, shouldn’t there be something waving?
Gravitational waves have been detected — actual ripples moving through space. But what, exactly, is rippling? The standard answer is "spacetime," but this remains an abstract concept with no defined physical substance.
Moreover, forces like gravity and electromagnetism act across vast distances with consistency and directionality. This coherence over distance suggests a structured method of transmission — in other words, something very much like a medium.
The Standard Objection: Michelson–Morley and Its Legacy
In 1887, Michelson and Morley tried to detect Earth's motion through the "aether" — a hypothesized medium for light — using an interferometer. The result was famously “null,” meaning no detectable difference in light speed in different directions.
This null result became one of the foundational arguments for discarding the idea of a medium altogether, later reinforced by Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
But the story doesn’t end there.
A Closer Look: Was It Really a Null Result?
After the Michelson–Morley experiment, physicists like Lorentz and FitzGerald proposed that the measuring apparatus itself might contract in the direction of motion through the medium. This contraction would cancel out any observable difference, explaining the null result. Gravium theory predicts a similar type of contraction — but in both the direction of travel and perpendicular to it — which results in the same cancellation effect in experiments. This is discussed in more detail in Chapter 9 of Action at a Distance.
At the time, the nature of matter wasn’t fully understood. It wasn’t until Rutherford’s gold foil experiment that scientists discovered that atoms are mostly empty space, with mass concentrated in a tiny nucleus. This makes the idea of atomic contraction through interaction with a medium more plausible — especially if atomic bonds depend on forces that themselves propagate through the medium.
In fact, if those forces (like electromagnetic interactions) are mediated by photons (as many believe), and photons propagate in the medium, then the matter making up the measuring device is inherently tied to the same medium it’s trying to detect. This would render all Michelson—Morley type experiments incapable of detecting a medium.
What Do Modern Experiments Really Say?
Many recent experiments are held up as proof that no medium exists. But do they really prove that?
• Light Speed Isotropy Tests
Modern versions of the Michelson–Morley experiment use a rotating optical cavity to detect differences in light propagation in perpendicular directions. These tests are interpreted as confirming that the speed of light is the same in all directions. But this doesn’t prove there’s no medium — it just shows that we don’t detect motion relative to it, which is exactly what would happen if the apparatus itself adjusts due to contraction related to the interaction with the medium.
• Dispersion Tests
Some astronomers look for dispersion — a spread in arrival times of high-energy bursts of light over cosmic distances — as evidence of a medium. These tests rule out dispersive media (where higher-frequency light travels faster), but not a rigid, massless medium like gravium, which would not cause dispersion.
• Polarization (Birefringence) Tests
Other studies examine whether light from distant stars shows signs of twisting or rotation that might be caused by a structured medium. These results limit directionally biased (or “twisted”) media, but they don’t rule out a perfectly uniform one.
Reinterpreting the Evidence
All so-called “null results” are consistent with the presence of a medium that interacts with matter in a way that cancels the effects we try to measure.
Just because we don't detect motion relative to the medium doesn't mean it isn't there — especially if our instruments are comprised almost entirely of electromagnetic fields. The particles that make up the mass of matter on the surface of Earth, make up less than a trillionth of the volume of object. All these tests are using electromagnetic fields—the apparatus— to detect the propagation of electromagnetic fields, thus nullifying their ability to detect the medium’s presence.
The Gravium Perspective
Gravium theory proposes a real, rigid, massless medium that fills all of space.
Forces are not abstract mathematical actions-at-a-distance, but mechanical distortions in this medium. Both gravity and electromagnetism arise from physical effects in gravium.
Gravitational waves are not “ripples in spacetime” — they are literal waves in a real medium. The medium transmits energy, carries momentum, and defines the structure of physical interactions.
Conclusion: Time to Reconsider the Medium
The rejection of the medium wasn’t based on conclusive experimental proof — it was a philosophical choice rooted in interpretations that could be challenged.
Gravium theory offers a return to physical realism: a world where waves have something to wave in, and forces have real mechanical foundations.
Engineers, scientists, and truth-seekers alike are invited to revisit the evidence — not with blind trust in inherited assumptions, but with open eyes and critical thinking. Maybe it’s time to restore a long-lost idea: that space is not empty, but full of structure and purpose.
✅ Next Steps
Purchase the book: Action at a Distance, A Unification of Gravity and Electromagnetism
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—Eugene Eddlemon