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Article: Earth-moon model backs general relativity.(gravitational energy)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- October 30, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts that both mass and energy respond to gravity, so even gravity's energy would feel the tug of gravity. Yet, some theories exempt gravitational energy from the force's attraction.
Curious to know which theory is right, physicists in Seattle have conducted new laboratory tests and combined them with findings from previous direct measurements of lunar and Earth motion.
In the Nov. 1 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, the team at the University of Washington reports that the acceleration of gravitational energy doesn't differ from that of other forms of mass and energy--a finding that supports general relativity. If ...