RESULTS OF A ONE-WAY EXPERIMENT TO TEST THE ISOTROPY OF THE SPEED OF LIGHT

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the outcome of an experiment based on an improved version of Fizeau’s coupled-slotted- discs that tests the fundamental postulates of Special Relativity for the one-way speed of light propagation. According to our methodology, important phenomena- a limit on and the diurnal regularity of the variation of the speed of light due to the movements of the Earth (assuming that the speed of light follows a Galilean transformation)- can be tested by the present experiment. However, these measurements do not indicate any significant diurnal variation. Consequently, the limit of the present outcome on the variation of the speed of light is insignificant. Assuming that the speed of light is not invariant and performing a rigorous statistical analysis, the limit established is approximately 1/50 of the previous Fizeau-type experiment with 95 % confidence level. These outcomes are consistent with the assumptions of Einstein’s Special Relativity. Key words: Isotropy test, Special theory of relativity, Constancy of the one-way speed of light. PACS: 03; 03.+p, 07; 07.60.-j, 07.60.Ly Shortened version of the title