Although this theory can explain the motion of the cosmos, it cannot be used to explain action on the smallest scales of the universe. Such behavior is studied in quantum physics and future theories that can help to understand the universe.
“How successful Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity has proven, we know it’s not the last word in the theory of gravity. More than 100 years later, scientists around the world are continuing their efforts to find flaws in his theory,” said University of East Anglia physicist Dr Robert Ferdman. Independent, Wednesday (15/12).
In a new study published in Physical Review X, researchers observed the motion of two large pulsars, a type of neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation from its poles through seven radio telescopes around the world.
Pulsars weigh more than the Sun but are only 15 miles wide. One pulsar spins 44 times per second while the other takes 2.8 seconds to spin. The two celestial bodies orbit each other every 147 minutes at a speed of one million kilometers per hour.
Scientists were able to test the way energy is carried by gravitational waves on a scale 1,000 times better than current technology. They not only found Einstein’s theory to hold, but they were also able to see effects that had never been studied before.
“Regardless of gravitational waves and light propagation, our precision made it possible to measure the time-expanding effect that makes the clock run more slowly in a gravitational field,” said Professor Dick Manchester of the Australian National Science Agency (CSIRO).
Manchester went on to say that it was necessary to take into account Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc2 when considering the effect of electromagnetic radiation emitted by rapidly rotating pulsars on orbital motion.
“This radiation corresponds to a mass loss of eight million tons per second. While this may seem like a lot, it’s only a fraction of the three parts in a thousand billion billion, of the pulsar’s mass per second,” he said.
Scientists say while the level of precision they can measure is unprecedented. This means future experiments with larger telescopes will examine the universe with greater accuracy and hope to one day find deviations from Einstein’s Theory.
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