Thought Experiments for the Einstein Equivalence Principle скачать в хорошем качестве

Thought Experiments for the Einstein Equivalence Principle

The Equivalence Principle from my Introductory Cosmology series. • Equivalence Principle: A falling man in a box cannot distinguish between being in free fall in space or in a gravitational field. • Inertial Frames: Free-falling frames of reference are considered inertial, meaning they behave as if no gravity is present. • Laboratory Experiments in Space: Experiments conducted in a deep space laboratory, such as laser pointing, magnet manipulation, and observations of atoms and molecules, would yield results identical to those performed in a laboratory at rest on Earth. • Laboratory Experiments and Relativity: Small-scale laboratory tests at speeds close to the speed of light will demonstrate time dilation, length contraction, and clock desynchronization, consistent with special relativity. • Gravitational Influence on Experiments: When a laboratory drifts into a star’s orbit, it experiences free fall, mimicking the conditions of deep space and masking the presence of the gravitational field. • Inertial Reference Frames in Free Fall: Laboratories freely falling in a uniform gravitational field, even in orbit, are considered inertial reference frames, similar to those in deep space. • Equivalence Principle: In a small enough region of space and time, the effects of gravity are indistinguishable from the effects of acceleration. • Falling in Gravity: It’s impossible to distinguish between freely falling in a uniform gravitational field and being in deep space far from any gravitational source. • Weight in Acceleration: An observer in a rocket accelerating upwards at 1G will feel the same weight as standing on the Earth’s surface. • Rocket Acceleration and Apple Motion: As the rocket accelerates, apples initially aligned with batons are released and move freely in deep space. • Observer Perspectives: Elton, inside the accelerating rocket, perceives the apples falling and the rightmost one following a parabolic trajectory. Stewart, in a stationary space station, observes the apples maintaining a straight line throughout. • Final Impact: The apples eventually hit the rocket’s floor due to the rocket’s upward acceleration, with Stewart witnessing them still in a straight line at the moment of impact. • Weak Equivalence Principle: Elton couldn’t distinguish between being in a rocket accelerating at 9.8 m/s² and being on Earth due to the closed windows. • Reference Frames Equivalence: The left side represents a rocket’s accelerated frame, and the right side represents a gravitational field, highlighting the indistinguishability between the two. • Mass Equivalence: There’s no difference between inertial mass and gravitational mass.