Was 1040’s supposed to be 1940’s? The aether was pretty much discarded by the 1940’s, it is not necessary and does not add anything. Basically, the “aether” was the coordinate system in which Maxwell’s equations applied. Einstein “simplified” things by saying they apply in any inertial coordinate frame, but never managed to specify what an inertial coordinate frame is, though on timescales of nanoseconds over distances of a few meters, the surface of the earth is a good approximation.
Yes. [Lowers head sheepishly in shame...]
I thought aether was something you huffed in a rag to get really messed up?