Light travels through space by propagating waves in a subtle, invisible substance called the luminiferous aether that fills all space.
The aether hypothesis was the dominant view until Einstein's special theory of relativity (1905) and the Michelson-Morley experiment showed the aether was unnecessary. Light is electromagnetic radiation that propagates as quantized photons and does not require a medium to travel through. Modern physics has completely abandoned the aether concept.
Reception
Sources
- Stanford Encyclopedia: Scientific Luminiferous Aether REFERENCE
- Britannica: Aether REFERENCE