A theory that describes how matter produces and responds to the geometry of space and time. It was first published by Einstein in 1915 and is currently used to study the structure and evolution of the universe, as well as having practical applications like GPS.
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How close can two extremal black holes with the same charge can get?
Here's a puzzle I have been pondering over.
If we have two extremal black holes with the same charge, the electrostatic repulsion between them ought to cancel the gravitational attraction between ...
4
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4answers
313 views
Can a photon get emitted without a receiver?
It is generally agreed upon that electromagnetic waves from an emitter does not have to connect to a receiver, but how can we be sure this is a fact? The problem is that we can never observe non ...
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2answers
353 views
Why is Mendel Sachs's work not taken seriously? Or is it?
Back in college I remember coming across a few books in the physics library by Mendel Sachs. Examples are:
General Relativity and Matter
Quantum Mechanics and Gravity
Quantum Mechanics from General ...
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2answers
89 views
Gravitational distortion of an object's diameter, at a distance,
Does the curvature of space-time cause objects to look smaller than they really are? What is the relationship between the optical distortion and the mass of the objects?
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2answers
207 views
What do you feel when crossing the event horizon?
I have heard the claim over and over that you won't feel anything when crossing the event horizon as the curvature is not very large. But the fundamental fact remains that information cannot pass ...
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3answers
1k views
Harold White's work on the Alcubierre warp drive
I've read a bit on Harold White's recent work. (A paper on Nasa's site) I haven't been able to find any comments by people claiming to know anything about the physics involved. Is this really serious? ...
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7answers
1k views
According to General Relativity, Does The Past “Exist”?
I'm curious about just what is meant by time being another dimension, like the three (observable) spatial dimensions. Does this imply, according to General Relativity, that the past and the future ...
3
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1answer
117 views
geometry inside the event horizon
I'm trying to understand intuitively the geometry as it would look to an observer entering the event horizon of a schwarszchild black hole. I would appreciate any insights or corrections to the above.
...
3
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1answer
115 views
models for astrophysical relativistic jets from compact objects
what is the simplest way to understand the physics of relativistic jets? we know that they have axial symmetry with very tight angular spread, presumably aligned with the axis of rotation of the ...
3
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3answers
835 views
Is it possible/correct to describe electromagnetism using curved space(-time)?
Comparing the simples form of the forces of both phenomena: the law of Newton for gravitation $V\propto \frac{1}{r}$, and the Coulomb law for electrostatics $V\propto \frac{1}{r}$, one might think ...
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1answer
101 views
Would dense matter around a black hole event horizon eventually form a secondary black hole? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Black hole formation as seen by a distant observer
Given that matter can never cross the event horizon of a black hole (from an external observer point of view), if a ...
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4answers
561 views
How long would it take to travel through a wormhole?
Assuming wormholes exist and you put some matter into one, how long would it take to reach the other end versus how far apart the two ends are? Basically, by how much does a wormhole stretch ...
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3answers
205 views
Mechanism for the gravitational field generated by photons
This question follows from a schooling I received in this thread.
I figured that photons do not interact with gravity, except when they've spontaneously converted into a particle-antiparticle pair. ...
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5answers
792 views
Is the law of conservation of energy still valid?
Is the law of conservation of energy still valid or have there been experiments showing that energy could be created or lost?
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1answer
224 views
metric signature explanation
Can anyone explain what metric signature is?
I have a basic knowledge regarding tensors, btw.
Also, how is it related to fundamental understanding of general relativity?
Thanks.
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1answer
296 views
Blandford-Znajek process: Why/how does the current flow along the magnetic field lines
Related: How would a black hole power plant work?
I have put a bit of commentary enumerating my confusions in parentheses
I read in Black Holes and Time Warps (Kip Thorne), that quasars can generate ...
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2answers
176 views
curvature tensor component capable of doing work on $T_{\mu \nu}$
I'm wondering what part of the curvature tensor is able to do work (and hence transfer energy) in matter. I'm wondering if this tensor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress-energy-momentum_pseudotensor ...
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1answer
150 views
Can a super-extremal charged black hole be made out of electrons only?
In a previous Question it was argued that it would be impossible to add enough charge to a black hole to make it pass the extremal black hole limit since adding charge would increase the mass of the ...
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3answers
224 views
Is there a single metric for a given system?
Let imagine a tunnel that connect two distant places at the globe (eastern-western or north-south)
There are a lot of posible "distances" or metrics, defined by maps, routes, "as the crow flies", ...
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3answers
437 views
Anti-matter repelled by gravity - is it a serious hypothesis? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why would Antimatter behave differently via Gravity?
Regarding the following statement in this article:
Most important of these is whether ordinary gravity attracts ...
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0answers
115 views
Is it mathematically possible or topologically allowable for cutouts, or cavities, to exist in a 3-manifold?
A few weeks back, I posted a related question, Could metric expansion create holes, or cavities in the fabric of spacetime?, asking if metric stretching could create cutouts in the spacetime manifold. ...
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2answers
154 views
Newton's third law and General relativity
Is Newton's third law valid at the General Relativity?
Newton's second law, the force exerted by body 2 on body 1 is:
$$F_{12}$$
The force exerted by body 1 on body 2 is:
$$F_{21}$$
According to ...
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4answers
614 views
Can black holes form in a finite amount of time?
One thing I know about black holes is that an object gets closer to the event horizon, gravitation time dilation make it move more slower from an outside perspective, so that it looks like it take an ...
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2answers
171 views
What is the definition of a timelike and spacelike singularity?
What is the definition of a timelike and spacelike singularity?
Trying to find, but haven't yet, what the definitions are.
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1answer
158 views
Can a deformable object “swim” in curved space-time? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Swimming in Spacetime - apparent conserved quantity violation
It is well known that a deformable object can perform a finite rotation in space by performing deformations ...
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3answers
432 views
Is the total energy of the universe constant?
If total energy is conserved just transformed and never newly created, is there a sum of all energies that is constant? Why is it probably not that easy?
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2answers
246 views
How can one reconcile the temperature of a black hole with asymptotic flatness?
A stationary observer very close to the horizon of a black hole is immersed in a thermal bath of temperature that diverges as the horizon is approached. $$T^{-1} = 4\pi \sqrt{2M(r-2M)}$$ The ...
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8answers
448 views
Gravity theories with the equivalence principle but different from GR
Einstein's general relativity assumes the equivalence of acceleration and gravitation. Is there a general class of gravity theories that have this property but disagree with general relativity? Will ...
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2answers
398 views
Can we have a black hole without a singularity?
Assuming we have a sufficiently small and massive object such that it's escape velocity is greater than the speed of light, isn't this a black hole? It has an event horizon that light cannot escape, ...
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1answer
114 views
Source term of the Einstein field equation
My copy of Feynman's "Six Not-So-Easy Pieces" has an interesting introduction by Roger Penrose. In that introduction (copyright 1997 according to the copyright page), Penrose complains that Feynman's ...
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3answers
203 views
From the perspective of an observer inside a black hole's horizon, where does the energy for Hawking radiation come from?
Would energy be seen to "flow" to the outside of the black hole? Through what mechanism?
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2answers
278 views
Conical spacetime of cosmic string
Inspired by: Angular deficit
The 2+1 spacetime is easier for me to visualize, so let's use that here. (so I guess the cosmic string is now just a 'point' in space, but a 'line' in spacetime) Edward ...
5
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2answers
794 views
Why does pressure act as a source for the gravitational field?
I'm asking for a qualitative explanation if there is one.
My own answer doesn't work. I would have guessed it's because when a gas has pressure the kinetic energy adds to the rest mass of a given ...
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2answers
181 views
How (or why) equivalence principle led to Einstein field equations?
If equivalence principle was origin of general relativity what was the process that this principle led Einstein to developed his theory of general relativity?
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1answer
141 views
Does the curvature of space-time cause objects to look smaller than they really are?
What's the difference between looking at a star from a black hole and looking at it from empty space?
My guess is that the curvature of space-time distorts the wavelength of light thus changing the ...
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1answer
175 views
Is the quantization of gravity necessary for a quantum theory of gravity? Part II
(At the suggestion of the user markovchain, I have decided to take a very large edit/addition to the original question, and ask it as a separate question altogether.)
Here it is:
I have since ...
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1answer
95 views
Flat space metrics
This question concerns the metric of a flat space:
$$ds^2=dr^2+cr^2\,\,d\theta^2$$ where $c$ is a constant. Why is it necessary to set $c=1$ to avoid singularities and to restrict $r\ge 0$?
Thanks.
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3answers
230 views
Can spacetime exist in the absence of matter and energy?
I'm pretty sure Ernst Mach would have said that spacetime cannot exist without matter in it.
But I'm also pretty sure that a black hole can be described as a self-sustaining gravitational field, ...
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3answers
354 views
How does faster than light travel violate causality?
Let's say I have two planets that are one hundred thousand lightyears away from each other. I and my immortal friend on the other planet want to communicate, with a strong laser and a tachyon ...
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0answers
45 views
Kerr solution for finite collapse time
The Kerr black hole solutions gives an analytic continuation that is asymptotically flat. Some people have argued that this is another universe, but others state that the analytic continuation ...
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2answers
300 views
What are the units of the quantities in the Einstein field equation?
The Einstein field equations (EFE) may be written in the form:
$$R_{\mu\nu}-\frac {1}{2}g_{\mu\nu}R+g_{\mu\nu}\Lambda=\frac {8\pi G}{c^4}T_{\mu\nu}$$
where the units of the gravitational constant $G$ ...
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1answer
193 views
Falling into a black hole
I've heard it mentioned many times that "nothing special" happens for an infalling observer who crosses the event horizon of a black hole, but I've never been completely satisfied with that statement. ...
4
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1answer
282 views
Is 4-volume element a scalar or a pseudoscalar in special relativity?
In general relativity 4-volume element $\mathrm{d}^4 x = \mathrm{d} x^0\mathrm{d} x^1 \mathrm{d} x^2\mathrm{d} x^3$ is clearly a pseudoscalar (or scalar density) of weight 1 since it transforms as ...
4
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2answers
131 views
Effect of gravity at near-lightspeeds
Let's say I'm in a space station, hurtling towards our galaxy nearly close to the speed of light. From my reference frame, I see the galaxy coming towards my ship at the same speed.
I pass the Sun, ...
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2answers
332 views
Deriving Birkhoff's Theorem
I am trying to derive Birkhoff's theorem in GR as an exercise: a spherically symmetric gravitational field is static in the vacuum area. I managed to prove that $g_{00}$ is independent of t in the ...
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4answers
401 views
what is the difference between a blackhole and a point particle
Theoretically, What is the difference between a black hole and a point particle of certain nonzero mass. Of-course the former exists while its not clear whether the later exists or not,
but both have ...
4
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2answers
716 views
What does “foliation” mean in the context of a “foliation of spacetime?”
I've seen foliation used in the context of "foliation of spacetime" here and elsewhere in papers and such. Generally defined in reference to a "sequence of spatial hypersurfaces." But I don't know ...
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0answers
95 views
Would warp bubbles emit gravitational Cerenkov radiation in general relativity?
Inspired by the gravtiomagnetic analogy, I would expect that just as a charged tachyon would emit normal (electromagetic) Cerenkov radiation, any mass-carrying warp drive would emit gravitational ...
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2answers
191 views
About space-time and its four dimensions
I explained to someone I know about General Relativity (as much as I know).
He said that he didn't see how it could be correct.
He argued:
How is 4-dimensional space-time space different to ...
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2answers
250 views
Gravitational wave energy
Electromagnetic energy can be related to it's frequency via $E=h\nu$. Is there a comparable relationship between gravitational wave energy and frequency?
