ASTR 340 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Equivalence Principle, Gravitational Redshift, Length Contraction
Document Summary
Special relativity: einstein"s postulates: physical laws are the same in any intertial reference frame, speed of light is constant, time dilation and length contraction, simultaneity and order of events, e=mc^2. Einstein"s tower: assume light is not affected by gravity, but showed that it was. Gravitational redshift: time passes at a slower rate in a gravitational field. Since gravity does not appear in maxwell"s equations, they must be valid in earth, meaning earth is not an inertial frame of reference. Gps satellites must take special and general relativity into account. Weak equivalence principle: all objects accelerate at the same rate in a given gravitational field. Strong equivalence principle: no experiment can distinguish between a free-falling reference frame and inertial reference frames. Eddington test: 1919, solar eclipse, found light bending principles. Strong lensing: multiple images of the same source.
