michelson                package:Rlab                R Documentation

_R_e_s_u_l_t_s _f_r_o_m _M_i_c_h_e_l_s_o_n'_s _d_e_t_e_r_m_i_n_a_t_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _v_e_l_o_c_i_t_y _o_f _l_i_g_h_t _i_n _a_i_r.

_D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n:

     These data are actually measurements obtained by Michelson between
     June 5, 1879, and July 2, 1879. The data are in km/sec if 299000
     is added to each value. Working backwards from the current `true
     value' of the velocity of light in vacuum (299,792.5 km/sec) and
     using Michelson's own adjustment for the effect of air, the
     comparable `true value' for these data is 734.5 (considerably
     smaller than the actual measurements). Michelson used a
     modification of Foucault's 1850 experimental method which
     consisted of passing light from a source off a rapidly rotating
     mirror to a distant fixed mirror, and back to the rotating mirror.
     Presumably the five sets of 20 measurements are in time sequence.
     From Stigler (1977 Annals of Statistics, p.1073-1076, Table 6).

_F_o_r_m_a_t:

     A data frame with 100 observations on the following 2 variables.

     _v_e_l_o_c_i_t_y : measured velocity of light as described above

     _s_e_t : the set in which the measurement was taken

_E_x_a_m_p_l_e_s:

     lplot(michelson$velocity,michelson$set)
     bplot(michelson$velocity,michelson$set)

