Is the equivalence principle true?

equivalence principle, fundamental law of physics that states that gravitational and inertial forces are of a similar nature and often indistinguishable. All dynamical experiments yield the same results as obtained in an inertial state of uniform motion unaffected by gravity.

What is the equivalence principle introduced by Einstein?

Einstein’s equivalence principle for a uniform gravitational field states that the motion of an object in an inertial reference frame is indistinguishable from the motion of the object in the absence of this field but with respect to a suitable uniformly accelerated reference system.

What Cannot be distinguished according to the principle of equivalence in the general theory of relativity?

The equivalence principle does not deny the existence of measurable effects caused by a rotating gravitating mass (frame dragging), or bear on the measurements of light deflection and gravitational time delay made by non-local observers.

What are the consequences of the equivalence principle?

An immediate consequence of the equivalence principle is that gravity bends light. To visualize why this is true imagine a photon crossing the elevator accelerating into space. As the photon crosses the elevator, the floor is accelerated upward and the photon appears to fall downward.

Why was the theory of special relativity incomplete?

And although special relativity predicts many observed phenomena correctly, this theory is also incomplete. But according to special relativity, nothing can move faster than the speed of light. This made it hard to reconcile special relativity with this aspect of Newtonian gravity.

Why are inertial mass and gravitational mass equal?

The fact that the value of inertial mass and gravitational mass of a particle are same is the result of the “equivalence principle” which is an essential principle for any metric theory of gravity like general relativity. If it were different, then the whole edifice of GR will fall down like a house of cards.