FLO Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 A lone researcher working with borrowed data may have beaten a $700 million NASA mission to the finish line by being the first to measure an obscure subtlety of Einstein's general theory of relativity.The phenomenon in question is the Lense-Thirring effect, a small force produced as the fabric of space-time gets twisted by a spinning mass such as a rotating planet. The force will drag the point at which a polar-orbiting satellite crosses the planet's equator by a small amount each year. Source: New Scentisthttp://tinyurl.com/2rsyg6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunator Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 SteveIf this is proved correct it will further show how accurate the theory of relativity is. Finding this effect around Mars 1st is quite a surprise. You would have thought it could have been calculated aropund the earth 1st. Cheersian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaptain Klevtsov Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 It seems as though that would be much easier as the Earth has loads of orbiting stuff that can be tracked accurately and its nearer than Mars.Captain Chaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astroman Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Actually, the effect is more easily seen around more distant objects since it's a measurement of space-time's distortion. The effect locally is harder to see because we're inside it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magician Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Magician he says "Yes the eye can see, but canot see itself" Well, its a grey day! Cheers Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Warthog Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Or as a girl in my brother's grade 6 class said when the teacher said, "Take a look at yourself!". "I can't. I'm too close!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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