Lost Cause
It's a wrap!
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2001
- Posts
- 30,949
Man, stuff keeps happening that makes this time I'm living in exciting! Just a "heads up" to the science minded folk out "there."
***
Einstein's claim that gravity acts at the speed of light is to be put to the test tomorrow thanks to a rare alignment in the heavens.
Ever since Albert Einstein proposed the general theory of relativity in 1916, physicists have tested its principles.
He was proved right on gravity's ability to bend starlight, for instance.
Now, using an experiment conceived by a physicist at the University of Missouri, Columbia, teams around the world have the chance to measure the speed of gravity against the speed of light.
Dr Sergei Kopeikin said: "While there is indirect evidence that this is true, the speed has never been measured directly and that's what we're trying to do in an experiment that will not be possible again for another decade."
On Sunday, Jupiter will pass very close to a star-like quasar. The planet's gravity should nudge the light emitted by the quasar, causing its apparent position to shift by a distance that depends on the speed of gravity.
Dr Kopeikin's test involves comparing the position of the primary quasar to the position of other quasars unaffected by Jupiter. Final results should be available in mid-November.
***
Einstein's claim that gravity acts at the speed of light is to be put to the test tomorrow thanks to a rare alignment in the heavens.
Ever since Albert Einstein proposed the general theory of relativity in 1916, physicists have tested its principles.
He was proved right on gravity's ability to bend starlight, for instance.
Now, using an experiment conceived by a physicist at the University of Missouri, Columbia, teams around the world have the chance to measure the speed of gravity against the speed of light.
Dr Sergei Kopeikin said: "While there is indirect evidence that this is true, the speed has never been measured directly and that's what we're trying to do in an experiment that will not be possible again for another decade."
On Sunday, Jupiter will pass very close to a star-like quasar. The planet's gravity should nudge the light emitted by the quasar, causing its apparent position to shift by a distance that depends on the speed of gravity.
Dr Kopeikin's test involves comparing the position of the primary quasar to the position of other quasars unaffected by Jupiter. Final results should be available in mid-November.
