| Trouton-Noble experiment [¦trü·tǝn `nō·bǝl ik`sper·ǝ·mǝnt] ELECTROMAGNETISM An experiment to detect ether drift by measuring the deflection of a charged parallel plate capacitor which is suspended so that it is free to turn. RELATIVITY An experiment to measure the torque acting on a suspended, charged parallel-plate capacitor; the observed absence of the torque supports the special theory of relativity. |