another 3-page article at NYT
Apr. 17th, 2004 05:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheAfter 45 Years (and $700 Million), a Gravity Experiment Takes Flight
The experiment is organized to test one of the most esoteric predictions of Einstein's theory of gravity, the general theory of relativity, which predicted the expansion of the universe and the existence of light-swallowing black holes. The probe contains four gyroscopes to measure whether and how the spinning Earth twists space-time around itself like leaves in a tornado.
The answers, say Dr. Everitt, his colleagues and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will give physicists precise measurements on ways that matter warps space-time to produce the effect called gravity, allow them to calibrate the black hole dynamos that produce the monstrous energies of quasars, and perhaps find evidence of new forces in the universe.
"If it performs as well as we think, it will end up testing Einstein's theory 10 to 100 times better than any previous test," Dr. Everitt said.
The experiment is organized to test one of the most esoteric predictions of Einstein's theory of gravity, the general theory of relativity, which predicted the expansion of the universe and the existence of light-swallowing black holes. The probe contains four gyroscopes to measure whether and how the spinning Earth twists space-time around itself like leaves in a tornado.
The answers, say Dr. Everitt, his colleagues and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will give physicists precise measurements on ways that matter warps space-time to produce the effect called gravity, allow them to calibrate the black hole dynamos that produce the monstrous energies of quasars, and perhaps find evidence of new forces in the universe.
"If it performs as well as we think, it will end up testing Einstein's theory 10 to 100 times better than any previous test," Dr. Everitt said.