Afaik only a few aether theories have been worked out in sufficient details, meaning a consistent mathematical theory. I'm aware of the Einstein-aether theory of Jacobson / Mattingly, but I haven't studied it in detail.Zyxzevn wrote:Sadly many scientists do not know that there are simpler alternatives to special relativity that can work just fine.
Aether
There are some members of the EU that like the idea of some kind of "Dynamic Aether".
It defines Aether as a substance that moves relative with gravity.
Which means that all current relativity experiments work as well.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_aether_theoryEinstein æther theory, also called æ-theory, is a generally covariant modification of general relativity which describes a spacetime endowed with both a metric and a unit timelike vector field named the æther. The theory has a preferred reference frame and hence violates Lorentz invariance.
"Some kind of dynamic aether" sounds more like a vague idea than an elaborate physical theory.
The task of transforming special relativity (SR) into a preferred frame theory consistent with special relativity has been achieved, see the Chang-Tangherlini transformation as an equivalent to the Lorentz transformation. Furthermore a reformulation of electrodynamics with regard to an unspecified aether has also been done, it is sometimes called Hertzian electrodynamics. it is closely related to the question of electrodynamics in a moving medium.
But I'm not sure if it is justified to say that these theories are "simpler alternatives to special relativity" -- they look much more complex.