Abstract

Throughout the last three centuries, corpuscle, wave and photon have been the prevailing ideas and hypothesis on the nature of Light. We consider that all this confusion might have been caused by the lack of awareness on the existence of the magnetosphere, along with certain conceptual difficulties in the understanding of the consequences of Galileo's relativity. We propose here the following hypothesis: "light is a simple perturbation of the electromagnetic values of the empty space" (space which is free from matter, but has electric and magnetic field values (E, B)). This hypothesis, plus the fact that the magnetosphere and some classical Physics laws exist, is enough to explain experiences on electrodynamics whose interpretation, in the past, has lead to the present situation: Bradley's stellar aberration [J. Bradley, Phil. Trans 34, 637 (1728)] and Airy's [G. Airy, Proc. Roy. Soc. 20, 35-38 (1871)], Arago's experiment on the speed of light [D.F.J. Arago, Comp. Rend. Ac. Sc. 36, 38 (1853)], and the Michelson-Morley experiment [A.A. Michelson & E. Morley, Am. J. Sci. 3? series, 34, (Nov. 1887)]. This new hypothesis also leads us to suggest new ideas for the explanation of other well-known effects of Light: the Sagnac effect [G. Sagnac, Comp. Rend. Ac. Sc. 157, 708 (1913)], reflection, refraction, double refraction, Fresnel's drag, photoelectric effect, etc. Finally we propose an experiment that we consider crucial: "the drag of Light through a moving magnetic field".