Antikythera Mechanism

Could the equivalence principle be wrong? New Measurements Test Einstein’s Theory of Relativity – The Debrief

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Gravity accelerates objects equally, despite differences in their mass or composition. This fundamental principle of modern physics was known in the 16th century thanks to the observations of Galileo Galilei, which were later confirmed by astronaut Dave Scott during the Apollo 15 moonwalk.

What do you know! Mr. Galileo was right, Scott said during a televised demonstration broadcast from the Moon, where he dropped a geological hammer and a feather and watched them fall at equal speeds in the airless lunar atmosphere.

Based on those observations, it is widely accepted that the relationship between weight, inertia, and gravitation are three properties of mass that must always remain consistent with respect to each other. These phenomena are at the heart of the equivalence principle, a cornerstone of Einstein’s theory of gravity.

Past measurements have always confirmed the principle of equivalence, even though the possibility that inconsistencies can still be found in the theory has haunted physicists. As Washington University physicist Clifford Will once said, discovering even the slightest difference in how gravity acts on objects of different materials would have huge implications.

One of the things that keeps physicists concerned about this possibility involves a potential violation stemming from observations in quantum theory, prompting ongoing experimentation to verify anything that appears to be inconsistent with Einstein’s theory of gravity. If ever found, it would be a discovery that could potentially force us to rewrite our textbooks.

For now, our understanding of the equivalence principle remains intact, thanks to a team of scientists using nearly half a century of Lunar Laser Ranging data collected on the Moon, which allowed them to confirm the equivalence of all properties of mass with far greater precision than ever before.

According to a team of researchers from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity of the University of Bremen, in collaboration with the Geodesy Institute of the Leibniz University of Hanover, measurements derived from lunar laser distance data collected over the last half century have demonstrated the equivalence of passive gravitational mass and active gravitational mass with an accuracy more than 100 times higher than previous measurements.

Central to the team’s measurements is the fact that inertial mass will resist acceleration, a phenomenon we experience if we apply too rapid pressure on the accelerator pedal when a car starts moving, causing us to push ourselves against our seat. On the other hand, passive gravitational mass reacts to gravity, the same phenomenon that gives rise to our weight on Earth. When we talk about active gravitational mass, we are referring to the gravitational force exerted by any object and the proportional size of its gravitational field.

Since 1969, Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) has been used to measure the distance to the Moon from ground-based observatories using retroreflectors placed there by the Apollo missions, as well as the Soviet Luna program. Based on the LLR data, the research team was able to examine potential violations of the equivalence of both passive and active gravitational mass for two elements, aluminum, which is abundant in the Moon’s outer layers, and iron, which makes up the Moon’s core.

Assuming that active and passive gravitational mass are not equal, but that their ratios depend on material composition, it stands to reason that objects made of different materials and with different centers of mass, such as the aluminum shell of the Moon and its iron core, would accelerate on their own. Based on this, the Moon would also accelerate, a reality that more than 50 years of LLR data would easily convey.


Antikythera Mechanism



However, based on LLR data collected between 1970 and 2022, no such difference in mass effects was found, confirming the equality of active and passive gravitational masses to 14 decimal places, a figure 100 times more accurate than previous measurements made in 1986 which represented the previous most accurate measurements of this type.

Thanks to the team’s findings, the equivalence principle indeed remains intact, and thus offers yet another confirmation of Einstein’s theory of gravity, despite all the doubts arising from quantum physics.

The team paper, Equivalence of Active and Passive Gravitational Mass Tested with Lunar Laser Ranging, appeared in Physical Review Letters on July 13, 2023.

Micah Hanks is managing editor and co-founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email atmicah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work onwww.micahhanks.comand on Twitter:@MicahHanks.


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