RE: This is awesome to those interested in science.
May 15, 2011 at 2:19 pm
(May 15, 2011 at 10:18 am)lilphil1989 Wrote: (May 14, 2011 at 10:31 am)corndog36 Wrote: I'm not a physicist, so perhaps someone can help me out with this. Is this frame dragging a case where the flat space-time paradigm can not be applied as well as the curved space-time paradigm, or simple another confirmation of General Relativity? Also, since wormholes have been brought up, does the existence of wormholes depend on the flat space-time paradigm being dis-proven?
The "curved space-time paradigm" is general relativity. Frame dragging would not be expected in the flat space-time of special relativity, it's a purely general relativistic effect.
The "flat space-time paradigm" has already been disproved. GR describes spacetime as a curved (pseudo-)Riemannian manifold and there is a large body of evidence in it's favour.
I'm thinking of the flat space-time paradigm as described by Kip Thorne in his book; Black Holes and Time Warps. He asks the question: Is spacetime really curved? He then goes on to show that all the predictions of GR can be explained by a flat spacetime where the measurements of "perfect" clocks and rulers are distorted by the gravitational field. He states:
Quote:Since the two viewpoints (curved spacetime and flat) agree on the results of all experiments, they are physically equivalent. Which viewpoint tells the real truth is irrelevant for experiments; it is a matter for philosophers to debate, not physicists.
The book doesn't mention frame dragging and I was curious if it might be a case where the flat spacetime paradigm didn't work, but on rereading the chapter I'm thinking not.