# Had Albert Einstein tried to use the Galilean transformation on Maxwell's equations before AE's Special Theory?

I am looking for what motivated Albert Einstein in the direction of his Special Theory. I have read that it is unclear if he was set on that path by the Michelson-Morley experiments. Was AE aware that the Maxwell equations did not transform covariantly under the Galilean transformation? Does anyone know?

• Welcome to Physics! Questions about the history of science are probably better-suited for History of Science and Mathematics. I've flagged this question for possible migration. Jan 19 at 19:31
– User123
Jan 19 at 19:32
• Oh, he definitely knew. I don't know the exact dates or who did what, but it went like this: Maxwell's equations turn out not to be Galilean invariant (e.g. they imply speed-$(\mu_0\varepsilon_0)^{-1/2}$ wave equations); they turn out to be Lorentz invariance; it's proposed the "right" reference frame is that of the aether; the Michelson-Morley experiments show that won't work; Einstein decided to make Lorentz transformations the new standard for physics.
– J.G.
Jan 19 at 20:46
• I would not be surprised if the concept of "Galilean transformation" had been born only after the "Lorenz transformation" was already invented. Of course it was known since Newton, but not this was its name. Instead, it was considered as the only possible formula (or algorithm) to switch inertial systems. Much more later result, far after Einstein, that actually 3 possible group structures can satisfy a homogenous and isotropic 4D spacetime, beside Lorenz and Galilei group, there is also a third (it might be a timeless 4D space but not sure). Jan 19 at 22:12
• @J.G. Afaik there was yet another line of thinking at the time to explain the Michelson-Morley failure, it was some like an "aether dragging" theory. In the QM world, there was another line to explain the wave-particle duality, the "waverider theory": essentially, it assumed that both the wave and the particle are separate, interacting entities. I am curious, maybe combining the waverider theory with the aether dragging, maybe a mathematically equivalent theory to the QFT of the today could have been created. Jan 19 at 22:23