Newtonian Gravity and the equivalence principle

General Relativity (Fall, 2008)

September 22, 2008

This lecture starts with the tidal effects of Newtonian gravity.  Tidal effects are due to a nonuniform gravitational field. A person in the freely falling Einstein's elevator experiences weightlessness, and if the elevator is small enough, no tidal effects. The Equivalence Principle states: inertial mass and gravitational mass are equal.

Topics: 
  • Newtonian Gravity
  • Equivalence Principle
  • Gauss theorem