Kinetic Energy and the Equivalence Principle
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2011-01-13 v1
Abstract
According to the general theory of relativity, kinetic energy contributes to gravitational mass. Surprisingly, the observational evidence for this prediction does not seem to be discussed in the literature. I reanalyze existing experimental data to test the equivalence principle for the kinetic energy of atomic electrons, and show that fairly strong limits on possible violations can be obtained. I discuss the relationship of this result to the occasional claim that ``light falls with twice the acceleration of ordinary matter.''
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.gr-qc/9909014,
title = {Kinetic Energy and the Equivalence Principle},
author = {S. Carlip},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/9909014},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
11 pages, LaTeX; pedagogical paper sent to archive at students' request