Today, I finally managed to slightly adjust my homegrown “optical system” to test the effect of transverse beam displacement in the Michelson experiment. I made it out of two long parallel mirror plates 53 cm long and a laser pointer.

(See: “On additions to the Special Theory of Relativity”, “An addition to the AUTO-MOBILE”.)

I hasten to admit that I have never created any optical systems in my life, this is the first, and probably the last, because I am by no means a “master of golden hands”! I glued them together using one plastic box and two ceramic plates. I put it on a large rotating bearing. I did all this about two weeks ago, without pretending or even hoping for serious results.

So, today, only after a long and exhausting fuss, I managed to bring the beam reflected repeatedly from the mirrors to the glass door, to which I glued a millimeter ribbon “by eye”.

I looked at it in the position of the beam reflected from the mirrors, when the long axis of the installation is parallel to the Earth’s velocity vector,

(30 km/sec). The beam is moving TRANSVERSIALLY!

Then I turned his structure perpendicular, that is, so that the beam ran back and forth along the Earth’s velocity vector. And I saw with horror that the spot from the laser had shifted by about two millimeters! I did this several times, securing the door and not touching it. I only carefully turned the device with my finger around the axis of the large bearing disk.

In general, I felt like that chess player in Vasyuki who:

“Checkmate! – The frightened brunette stammered. -“Checkmate you, comrade Grandmaster!”

So am I!!!

In theory, THERE SHOULD BE NO DISPLACEMENT, because the beam is deflected towards the movement of the Earth and therefore the exit point of the beam SHOULD HAVE REMAINED IN THE SAME POSITION in both states!

AND IT SHIFTED!

I checked all the mirrors and the door, the ribbon and the laser position. Nothing changed with the careful and smooth rotation of the “optical system”.

But I quickly realized the reason.

The fact is that I DELIBERATELY used mirror plates with THICK GLASS before directly mirroring the silver layer.

Strictly speaking, if you are assembling a certain optical installation, then use the mirrored metal surface of the reflection directly, and not a double one – glass and mirror proper.

(But I was too lazy to wash off the protective paint from the back of the mirrored metal layer with acetone or another solvent. And I was afraid that I would accidentally erase the mirror layer)

The light was attracted by thick glasses, and two competing factors began to operate in the installation: The expected forward deflection of the beam along the Earth’s velocity vector and the additional attraction of the same light with refraction by thick glass plates.

Which, apparently, gave rise to such a “frightening” effect!

But, I admit, it’s a funny exercise for the brain, especially the “scared to death” one!

Faciant meliora potentes.

If I’m wrong, let my seniors correct me.

28 II 2026