Spinning earth drags space.Our rotating planet's tug on space-time, known as frame dragging, takes place almost exactly as specified by relativity theory, report Ignazio Ciufolini of the University of Lecce The University of Lecce commenced activities in the academic year 1955-56 under the “Salentine University Council”. In 1960 it became the “Free University of Lecce” and passed to Government authority in the 1967/68 academic year. in Italy and Erricos C. Pavlis of the University of Maryland University of Maryland can refer to:
The theory prediets that the two satellites LAGEOS LAGEOS LAser GEOdynamics Satellite (NASA) and LAGEOS2 should be dragged about 2 meters in the direction of Earth's rotation as they orbit. Using 11 years' measurements from laser beams bounced off the satellites, Ciufolini and Pavlis found 99 percent of the expected orbital shift. "This is the first accurate measurement" of frame dragging, claims Ciufolini. Until recently, measurements of gravity variations around the world had lacked accuracy, fueling distrust of frame-dragging results based on those numbers. This latest measurement is "much more convincing," says Neil Ashby of the University of Colorado University of Colorado may refer to:
Still, skepticism about the laser method lingers, especially from researchers associated with a space experiment known as Gravity Probe B Gravity Probe B (GP-B) is a satellite-based mission which launched in 2004. The spaceflight phase lasted until 2005, and data analysis is currently underway. (SN: 9/25/04, p. 206). Using a gyroscope-based technique, that mission is expected to report by 2006 a frame-dragging result at least 10 times more precise than the latest finding.--P.W. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion