The Diffeo-4 Mandate of Michelson-Sagnac

Abstract

The first impression of a discussion of the Michelson-Morley and Sagnac experiments in the context of a reprogramming of quantum mechanics is bound to raise questions about the conceptual connection of these topics. The answer is simply that the principle of general covariance, when taken in a global context, ties them together. In this chapter, it is shown how an old dichotomy can be removed by treating both experiments from a global point of view. This global spacetime treatment cannot be well accomplished without honoring the principle of general covariance. Since the same principle has also enabled us to delineate a two-tier view of quantum mechanics (chapters XV; XVII), the conceptual relation between these topics may now no longer be as far-fetched as they initially appeared.