28 research outputs found

    A Review of One-Way and Two-Way Experiments to Test the Isotropy of the Speed of Light

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    As we approach the 125th anniversary of the Michelson-Morley experiment in 2012, we review experiments that test the isotropy of the speed of light. Previous measurements are categorized into one-way (single-trip) and two-way (round-trip averaged or over closed paths) approaches and the level of experimental verification that these experiments provide is discussed. The isotropy of the speed of light is one of the postulates of the Special Theory of Relativity (STR) and, consequently, this phenomenon has been subject to considerable experimental scrutiny. Here, we tabulate significant experiments performed since 1881 and attempt to indicate a direction for future investigation.Comment: Updated Fig. 7 and references; Revised sections 3.2 and 4. Accepted in the Indian Journal of Physics on March 30, 201

    The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment

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    The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical frameworks for analysing them is reviewed. Einstein's equivalence principle (EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the Eotvos experiment, tests of special relativity, and the gravitational redshift experiment. Future tests of EEP and of the inverse square law are searching for new interactions arising from unification or quantum gravity. Tests of general relativity at the post-Newtonian level have reached high precision, including the light deflection, the Shapiro time delay, the perihelion advance of Mercury, and the Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion. Gravitational-wave damping has been detected in an amount that agrees with general relativity to better than half a percent using the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar, and other binary pulsar systems have yielded other tests, especially of strong-field effects. When direct observation of gravitational radiation from astrophysical sources begins, new tests of general relativity will be possible.Comment: 89 pages, 8 figures; an update of the Living Review article originally published in 2001; final published version incorporating referees' suggestion

    The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment

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    A matter of time

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    Lineare Schwingungen

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