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What role does the equivalence of the inertial and gravitational properties properties of mass play in the development general relativity?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
A very important role. It forms the basis of the entire theory. What Einstein did, in effect, was assume that inertial and gravitational mass is the same. It was already known at that time that experimentally there was no real difference, but it was sort of regarded as a coincidence; before Einstein there was no real reason why they should be equal.
Einstein looked at what would actually happen if they really are equal, and that assumption (along with the one about the speed of light being constant from his earlier special theory of relativity) directly leads to the equations forming the general theory of relativity.
Looking back one might thus say that both masses are the same because energy warps spacetime.
If someone could show in an experiment that inertial and gravitational masses are not the same it would immediately invalidate Einstein's theory.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoWe might regard that there are two types of mass. Gravitational mass is responsible for the attractive 'force' that one mass exerts on another. Inertial mass is responsible for requiring increasingly greater force to change a mass' state of motion - as that mass increases.
To within the best limits of experimental accuracy available, these two masses are equal. This means that a body of mass will resist changes in its state of motion in direct proportion to its 'gravitational' influence on another body of mass.
This equivalence leads to the concept that gravitation is not actaully a force in the Newtonian sense but that gravitation and acceleration are equivelent.
The leap here is to realise that this means that the motion of a mass will remain constant unless in the presence of another body due to the tendancy of mass to warp spacetime and create a mutual tendancy for both interacting masses to follow the curvature of spacetime that they have both created in combination.
We define this from the Newtonian view as masses acting under mutual gravitational influences.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoAxiomatic assumption.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoaxiomatic assumption.
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What is the relationship of Einstein's theory of relativity and energy mass equivalent?
The equivalence of mass and energy is one of the implications that arise from General Relativity.
What year did Einstein discover the theory of relativity and the mass energy equivalence?
in 1905
Is e equals mc2 the theory of relativity?
No, it states the equivalence of mass and energy.
What is the difference between twin paradox and gravitational time dilation?
twin paradox appears and is solvable with only special relativity, gravitational time dialation requires general relativity.
Is the theory of relativity essentially gravitational?
no it is a thery of space and time
Does gravity have energy?
This is somewhat of a moot point in General Relativity, the current theory for gravity. This theory describes how spacetime warps due to the presence of energy, but energy contained within the gravitational field itself is excluded in the procedure. There are some good arguments for this. For examples according to the equivalence principle a gravitational field should be indistinguishable from a constant accelerating frame, but the former would contain energy while the latter does not, violating said principle. However, a gravitational field can contain energy; this can be seen for example in gravitational waves (which can carry energy away from a binary star system), but General Relativity handles this is a very complex way, and it can only be directly calculated in same rare (simple) cases (the binary system emitting gravitational waves being an example of such a case). This has been used as an argument against general relativity from time to time, but experiments agree very well with general relativity and no serious alternative has of yet been proposed.
Einstein's general theory of relativity looks at the impact of gravitational force on what?
Objects
What branch of science this theory of relativity?
Relativity describes universal physical properties. Dynamic Physics would be how I'd classify it.
Did Albert Einstein discovered math?
No he is known for General relativity, Special relativity, Photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, Mass-energy equivalence , Einstein field equations,Unified Field Theory, Bose-Einstein statistics
Who was albery enstein?
Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. He credited with creating the theory of relativity and the massâ??energy equivalence, E=MC square.
Where is Albert Einstein known for?
He was known for: General relativity Special relativity Brownian motion Photoelectric effect Mass-energy equivalence Einstein field equations Unified Field Theory Bose-Einstein statistics EPR paradox
What is theory of relativity?
There are two theories of relativity.1. Special Relativity (Einstein)2. General Relativity (Einstein)Einstein's theory of relativity posits that time is a dimension in addition to space, and that space and time have relative properties to one another. This is not commonly observed because it is only obviously apparent as an object approaches the speed of light (a constant and ultimate property in the theory.)Albert Einstein's special relativity and general relativity.Special relativity: a theory of the structure of spacetime. It was introduced in Albert Einstein's 1905 paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies". Special relativity is based on two postulates which are contradictory in classical mechanics: The laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion relative to one another (Galileo's principle of relativity),The speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion or of the motion of the source of the light.General relativity: a theory of gravitation developed by Einstein in the years 1907-1915. The development of general relativity began with the equivalence principle, under which the states of accelerated motion and being at rest in a gravitational field are physically identical (for example when standing on the surface of the Earth). The upshot of this is that free fall is inertial motion. An object in free fall is falling because that is how objects move when there is no force being exerted on them, instead of this being due to the force of gravity as is the case in classical mechanics. This is incompatible with classical mechanics and special relativity because in those theories inertially moving objects cannot accelerate with respect to each other, but objects in free fall do so. To resolve this difficulty Einstein first proposed that spacetime is curved. In 1915, he devised the Einstein field equations which relate the curvature of spacetime with the mass, energy, and momentum within it. Some of the consequences of general relativity are:Time goes slower at lower gravitational potentials. This is called gravitational time dilation.Orbits precess in a way unexpected in Newton's theory of gravity. (This has been observed in the orbit of Mercury and in binary pulsars).Even rays of light (which are weightless) bend in the presence of a gravitational field.The Universe is expanding, and the far parts of it are moving away from us faster than the speed of light. This does not contradict the theory of special relativity, since it is space itself that is expanding.Frame-dragging, in which a rotating mass "drags along" the space time around it.
