Last week, an international team conducted a first experiment of its kind, to measure the force of gravity. Its purpose: to confirm/disprove Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
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The experiment was conducted using telescopes in the Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Germany with the participation of researchers from Japan and NASA. The date set for it, September 8-7, occurred when the planet Jupiter passed too close to the light beam from a quasar - a quasi-stellar body, billions of light-years away from us and the most energetic region in the galaxy's core. One quasar radiates 1000 times more energy than all the stars of the Milky Way combined. Some quasars emit radio radiation.
The attraction (or gravity) of Jupiter is supposed to slightly deflect (with gravitational pull) the light from the quasar, so that in observations it will look as if it has been moved from its fixed place in the sky.
A basic assumption in Einstein's theory that was never tested in a careful experiment was that the speed of gravity is equal to the speed of light - 300 thousand km per second. Einstein determined this based on "indirect evidence".
The researchers hope to accurately measure the change in the quasar's position thanks to modern and precise technologies. The researchers noted that another opportunity for a similar experiment will only be possible in another decade.
Dr. Sergey Kopeikin from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the USA, the head of the experiment team, said that he believes in Einstein's theory of general relativity, but it deserves examination.
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Thanks Adi
jewel:
Thanks for the interesting link.
A wonderful description of scientific adventure at its best!
Here, here is a fairly detailed explanation, and also the conclusion of the experiment:
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gravity/overview.php
Does anyone know anything about this experiment and can elaborate please??