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Physics
Special and General Relativity
Question regarding the equivalence principle
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[QUOTE="Dale, post: 6483118, member: 43978"] As [USER=493650]@PeroK[/USER] mentioned the equivalence principle is a local principle. In other words, it is valid only over distances and times small enough that the curvature of spacetime is negligible. This corresponds to an absence of tidal gravity. In relativity a uniformly accelerating reference frame in flat spacetime is called Rindler coordinates. Due to time dilation, hovering observers higher up have lower proper acceleration than observers lower down. So even in flat spacetime the value decreases as you go up in the rocket. This effect can actually be used to derive gravitational time dilation over small distances, e.g. in the Pound-Rebka experiment. However, on Earth, due to tidal effects (curved spacetime), this effect is more pronounced. The acceleration of a hovering observer decreases faster around the Earth than in flat spacetime. This effect is real and can really distinguish between the two, but it is explicitly excluded by the equivalence principle. Where tidal effects are measurable the equivalence principle does not apply. [/QUOTE]
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Physics
Special and General Relativity
Question regarding the equivalence principle
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