General Relativity Flashcards
What is the equivalence principle?
It is impossible to distinguish between the effects of acceleration and a gravitational field.
What is an inertial frame of reference?
An inertial frame of reference is stationary or has a constant velocity. (Constant speed in a straight line)
What is a non-inertial frame of reference?
A non-inertial frame of reference is accelerating. (Changing speed or direction)
What does the Special Theory of Relativity apply to?
The Special Theory of Relativity applies to inertial frames of reference (constant velocity)
What does the General Theory of Relativity apply to?
The General Theory of Relativity applies to non-inertial frames of reference (changing velocity)
When working with Special Relativity, what is assumed for all frames of reference?
The speed of light remains constant for all observers. (c = 3.0*10^8)
In a “vomit comet”, why do passengers have the feeling of weightlessness?
The plane and the passengers are falling at the same acceleration (not same speed).
What is gravitational lensing?
When an object is travelling close to the speed of light, rays of light appear to bend (in the frame of reference of the object).
What effect does the gravitational field strength have on time?
Stronger gravitational fields (or larger accelerations) cause time to run slower compared to weaker gravitational fields (or smaller accelerations).
What is a worldline?
A worldline is the path of an object through spacetime.
On a spacetime diagram, what is the gradient of the diagonal lines equal to?
The diagonal lines of a spacetime diagram represent the speed of light. Anything outside of the diagonal lines is travelling faster than the speed of light.
What does an accelerating object look like on a spacetime diagram?
An accelerating object has a curved line on a spacetime diagram.
On a spacetime diagram, what does a straight vertical line mean?
A straight vertical line is a stationary object on a spacetime diagram.
What is the Geodesic Path?
The Geodesic Path is the shortest path between 2 points in space. Light always follows the Geodesic Path.
What do large masses do to spacetime?
Large masses have stronger gravitational fields. Gravity is the warping of spacetime. So, large masses heavily distort/warp spacetime.
