Open Questions: Tests of Relativity and Gravity
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See also: Gravitational waves
Binary pulsars
Lorentz invariance
Gravity at very short range
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Site indexes
Sites with general resources
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Gravity Probe B: Testing Einstein's Universe
- Information on a project to test relativity with orbiting
gyroscopes. Site contains some media articles about the project
and many questions and answers about
special and general relativity.
-
Gravity Probe B: The Relativity Mission
- NASA-sponsored home page for the Gravity Probe B experiment.
Contains news, photos, and background information on the project.
-
Observing Lense-Thirring Precession
- An article about the phenomenon, by Draza Markovic and
Frederick K. Lamb. Includes images and downloadable animations.
-
Review of Gravity Probe B
- Report to the U. S. National Academies of Science on the review
of the Gravity Probe B project.
See especially the
executive summary.
-
The Eöt-Wash Group: Laboratory Tests of Gravitational
Physics
- Research group "pioneering new techniques in high-precision
studies of weak-field gravity. Our scientific goal is to search
for experimental signatures of quantum gravity that would
violate Einstein's Equivalence Principle and/or the Newtonian
inverse-square law at some length scale."
Surveys, overviews, tutorials
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Frame-dragging
- Article from
Wikipedia.
-
Precession in Curved Space: "The Geodetic Effect"
- Brief, single-page explanation.
-
Perseverance Is Paying Off for a Test of Relativity in Space
- February 2009 New York Times article about the curent
status of analyzing data from the Gravity Probe B experiment.
-
In Search of Gravitomagnetism
- April 2004 article at NASA's
Exploring the Universe site. Explains the science behind the
Gravity Probe B experiment.
-
Gravitational labs in the sky
- Summary of March 2005 article from
Physics World.
"The first-ever double-pulsar system was discovered by radio
astronomers two years ago and has provided the sternest test
of general relativity to date."
-
Relativity at the centenary
- January 2005 article from
Physics World, by
Clifford M. Will.
"Gravitational physics has become a truly experimental science
as tests of the special and general theories of relativity
reach new levels of precision."
-
Pioneer anomaly put to the test
- September 2004 article from
Physics World, by
Slava Turyshev, John Anderson, Michael Martin Nieto.
"The European Space Agency is considering a unique experiment
that could explain strange gravitational phenomena in the outer
solar system."
-
Breaking Lorentz symmetry
- March 2004 article from
Physics World, by
Robert Bluhm.
"As physicists celebrate 100 years of Lorentz symmetry, some
theorists and experimentalists are working hard to spoil the
party."
-
Clear message for causality
- December 2003 article from
Physics World, by
Aephraim M. Steinberg. "Experiment confirms that information
cannot be transmitted faster than the speed of light."
-
No thing goes faster than light
- September 2000 article from
Physics World, by
Aephraim M. Steinberg. "The observation of a light pulse leaving
a gas-filled chamber before it had even arrived sparked a media
frenzy, yet the laws of physics have remained intact."
-
Slingshot test for general relativity
- April 2001 news article from
Physics World.
"Physicists are hoping to make a new test of Einstein's
General Theory of Relativity by measuring the effect of
the Sun's gravity on a passing spacecraft."
-
Making light work of gravity gradients
- August 1998 news article from
Physics World.
"Physicists in the US have used an atom interferometer to
measure the gradient of the Earth's gravity field. Such
measurements could provide more accurate measurements of
the gravitational constant, G, and better tests of general
relativity."
-
The Search for Frame-Dragging
- Relatively brief page that presents some mathematical details
about frame dragging, by Clifford Will.
-
X-ray Astronomy Puts Einstein to the Test
- Describes how x-ray astronomy makes tests of general relativity.
Part of NASA's
Imagine the
Universe site.
-
Peering Over Einstein's Shoulders
- June 2002 Scientific American In Depth article, subtitled,
"Seeking still more complete descriptions of the workings of
spacetime, scientists are testing the boundaries of the special
theory of relativity."
-
The Nonnegligible Lightness of Gravity
- Brief February 2000 news story from Scientific American
on measurement of gravitational self-energy.
- The Search for Relativity Violations
Alan Kostelecky
Scientific American, September 2004
-
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A Spin through Space-Time
Peter Weiss
Science News, November 1, 2003
- A long-planned test of Einstein's theory is poised for takeoff.
- Binary Neutron Stars
Tsvi Piran
Scientific American, May 1995, pp. 50-61
- Neutron stars are the remains of massive stars that undergo
supernova explosion. Binary neutron stars can occur when both
members of a binary star pair have been supernovae, so should be
very unlikely. Yet observations now suggest there may be as many
as 30,000 such pairs in our galaxy. When such a binary system
inevitbly collapses the result is a gamma ray burst, distinctive
gravitational waves -- and a good test of the general theory
of relativity.
- Clifford Will - Was Einstein Right? Putting General Relativity
to the Test
Basic Books, 1986
- Non-mathematical exposition that looks at a number of
predictions of general relatively and how they have been tested.
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Copyright © 2002 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved