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"fields" and relativity - a broad question
... being a general enquiry into the uses and meanings of the word "field(s)" in relation to Einstein's theories of Special Relativity and General Relativity.
First, the narrow technical meanings.
QFT ('quantum field theory') involves 'fields'. In what sense, if any, does GR (General Relativity) also involve 'fields'. By 'involve' here I mean both the textbook explication of the core equations and relations(hips), as well as the underlying mathematical structure (to as many levels as you wish). To the extent that they both involve 'fields', how similar are these 'fields'?
Next, the more general (but still narrow) meanings.
In 'textbook' material - such as http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/GravitationalField.html" from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics (I typed 'gravitational field' into Google and chose the first hit that looked 'textbooky') - the concept of a 'gravitational field' seems alive and flourishing (Google tells me that there are >4 million hits to my simply enquiry; an eyeball estimate of the first half dozen webpages of hits suggests that many of these are from textbook-style webpages (ignoring crackpot sites, of course)). Do readers of this post have a feel for the most common ways that this expression/concept/term ("gravitational field") is tied to GR - in terms of both the textbook approach/explication, and the core aspects of the theories (which of course include Newtonian gravity)?
Finally, the popsci/folk/general meanings.
By 'popsci' here I mean popular science writing on the topic of gravitation and relativity; specifically, that which seeks to explain the ideas, concepts and theories without using any equations or math. By 'folk/general' I mean use of the terms outside any of the environments described above, such as on Star Trek, in computer games, literary criticism, etc. This is, of course, a vastly bigger field than all the above combined, yet it is the one in which more Joe Sixpacks and Joan Chardonnays will encounter 'gravitational field'.
What opinions do readers of this post have concerning the ranges of meanings that are to be found here?
... being a general enquiry into the uses and meanings of the word "field(s)" in relation to Einstein's theories of Special Relativity and General Relativity.
First, the narrow technical meanings.
QFT ('quantum field theory') involves 'fields'. In what sense, if any, does GR (General Relativity) also involve 'fields'. By 'involve' here I mean both the textbook explication of the core equations and relations(hips), as well as the underlying mathematical structure (to as many levels as you wish). To the extent that they both involve 'fields', how similar are these 'fields'?
Next, the more general (but still narrow) meanings.
In 'textbook' material - such as http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/GravitationalField.html" from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics (I typed 'gravitational field' into Google and chose the first hit that looked 'textbooky') - the concept of a 'gravitational field' seems alive and flourishing (Google tells me that there are >4 million hits to my simply enquiry; an eyeball estimate of the first half dozen webpages of hits suggests that many of these are from textbook-style webpages (ignoring crackpot sites, of course)). Do readers of this post have a feel for the most common ways that this expression/concept/term ("gravitational field") is tied to GR - in terms of both the textbook approach/explication, and the core aspects of the theories (which of course include Newtonian gravity)?
Finally, the popsci/folk/general meanings.
By 'popsci' here I mean popular science writing on the topic of gravitation and relativity; specifically, that which seeks to explain the ideas, concepts and theories without using any equations or math. By 'folk/general' I mean use of the terms outside any of the environments described above, such as on Star Trek, in computer games, literary criticism, etc. This is, of course, a vastly bigger field than all the above combined, yet it is the one in which more Joe Sixpacks and Joan Chardonnays will encounter 'gravitational field'.
What opinions do readers of this post have concerning the ranges of meanings that are to be found here?
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