equivalence principle | has definition States that inertial mass is indistinguishable from gravitational mass. | |
has definition Core principle of general relativity declaring the indistinguishability of accelerated motion and immersion in a gravitational field (over small enough regions of observation). Generalizes the principle of relativity by showing that all observers, regardless of their state of motion, can claim to be at rest, so long as they acknowledge the presence of a suitable gravitational field. | |
has definition In a freely falling and nonrotating laboratory the laws of physics, including their numerical content, are the same everywhere including gravity-free space. | |
has definition The principle that it is impossible to distinguish between gravitational and inertial forces; gravitational mass is precisely equal to inertial mass. | |
has definition The statement that a gravitational force is completely equivalent in all of its physical effects to an overall acceleration in the opposite direction. For example, a person in an elevator in space accelerating upward at 32 feet per second per second would feel the floor pushing upward against her feet in exactly the same way as if the elevator were at rest on earth, where gravity pulls downward with an acceleration of 32 feet per second per second. The "weak equivalence principle," which is not as strong as the equivalence principle, states that all objects, independent of their mass or composition, fall with the same acceleration in the presence of gravity. The Eötvös experiment, and later refinements of this experiment, have proven the weak equivalence principle. | |
is an instance of gravity law | |
gravity law | has domain gravity | |
law | has discoverer | |
theory | has validity correct or incorrect with caveats | |
has author or reasearch group | |
has date or a range of dates for which the theory was active | |