Michelson, Albert Abraham

Michelson, Albert Abraham

Albert Abraham Michelson is American physicist known for the invention of the Michelson interferometer and precision measurements of the speed of light. He was born on December 19, 1852.

In 1869 Michelson entered the US Naval Academy and from the very beginning of his studies he was very interested in science and in particular in the problem of measuring the speed of light.

In 1877 Albert Michelson began to improve the method of measuring the speed of light using a rotating mirror. The scientist's idea was to use better optics and a longer distance. In 1878 he made the first measurements and in 1879 he published his result of 299 910 ± 50 km/s.

Throughout his life Albert Michelson improved his method. After 1927 many measurements of the speed of light appeared using new electro-optical methods and in the end experiments gave a value of 299 774 ± 11 km/s. This value was obtained after the death of the scientist.


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