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The Michelson-Morley experiment tried to prove the effect of aether, which was supposed
to surround the earth, on the propagation of light.
A single ray of light was launched and using a mirror was split into
two, with each one following a different path of equal length. At the
end the rays joined up again, and the expected result was the typical
interference of rays which had travelled at different speeds; but this
was not found.
In spite of all their efforts, the rays which got to the end of the
distance, by whatever route they travelled, always arrived at the same
time. It was as if light had an unalterable speed, independently of
whether it moved in the direction of the aether or in the opposite
direction to the hypothetical aether.
You can simulate the experiment by carrying out the activities proposed
in the following visual.
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