Introduction to Relativity Phys(3303)
Jifar Raya
October 28, 2023
Outline
1 Gravitational physics
2 Gravity is geometry
3 Experiments in geometry
4 Different geometries
5 Specifying geometry
6 Coordinate and line element
7 Coordinate and in variance
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Gravitational physics
Gravity is one of the four fundamental interactions.
The classical theory of gravity is-Einstein’s general relativity and is
the subject of this Course.
General relativity is central to the understanding of frontier
astrophysical phenomena such as black holes, pulsars, quasars, the
final destiny of stars, the big bang, and the universe itself.
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Gravitational physics, also known as gravitation or gravity, is a branch
of physics that focuses on the study of the force of gravity and its
effects on objects and the structure of the universe.
The theory of gravity was first described by Sir Isaac Newton in the
17th century with his law of universal gravitation.
According to this law, every object in the universe attracts every other
object with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their
masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.
This law explains the motion of objects on Earth, the orbits of planets
around the Sun, and many other gravitational phenomena.
In the early 20th century, Albert Einstein revolutionized our
understanding of gravity with his theory of general relativity.
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According to general relativity, gravity is not a force but rather the
curvature of spacetime caused by the presence of mass and energy.
Objects with mass or energy cause spacetime to curve, and other
objects move along the curved paths dictated by this curvature.
General relativity provides a more comprehensive and accurate
description of gravity, especially in extreme conditions such as near
black holes or during the early stages of the universe.
Overall, gravitational physics is a fascinating field that explores the
fundamental force of gravity and its profound effects on the structure
and dynamics of the universe.
It plays a crucial role in our understanding of celestial bodies, the
behavior of galaxies, the evolution of the universe, and the nature of
spacetime itself.
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General relativity is also concerned with the minute departures of the
orbits of the planets from the laws of Newton and is a necessary
ingredient in the operation of the Global Positioning System used
every day.
As one of the fundamental forces, gravity is central to the quest for a
unified theory of all interactions; many of the ideas for these ”final
theories” originate in general Gravitational physics is thus a
two-frontier science.
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cont...
Its important applications lie at both the largest and smallest
distances considered in contemporary physics.
On the largest scales gravitational physics is linked to astrophysics
and cosmology
On the smallest scales it is tied to quantum and elementary
particle physics.
1 Q1: From where our Universe?
These two frontiers become one at the big bang, where the whole of
the observable universe today is compressed into the smallest possible
volume.
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The origins of general relativity can be traced to the conceptual
revolution that followed Einstein’s introduction of special relativity in
1905.
Newton’s centuries-old gravitational force law is inconsistent with
special relativity.
According to Newton’s law, two bodies of mass m1 and m2 attract
one another with a gravitational force whose magnitude is
Gm1 m2
Fgrav = 2
(1)
r12
Where r12 is the distance between them, and G is Newton’s
gravitational constant 6.67x10−8 dyn.cm2 g −2 .
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Universal Gravitational Law usually stated as that every parti-
cle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely propor-
tional to the square of the distance between their centers. JU
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The Newtonian gravitational force acts instantaneously.
The force on one mass depends on the position of the second at the
same time.
However, instantaneous interaction is prohibited in special relativity
where no signal can travel faster than the speed of light.
Newtonian gravity can therefore only be an approximation to a yet
more fundamental theory.
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In 1915, Einstein’s quest for a relativistic theory of gravity resulted
not in a new force law or a new theory of a relativistic gravitational
field, but in a pro-found conceptual revolution in our views of space
and time.
Einstein saw that the experimental fact that all bodies fall with the
same acceleration in a gravitational field led naturally to an
understanding of gravity in terms of the curvature of the
four-dimensional union of space and time-spacetime.
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Mass curves spacetime in its vicinity, and the trajectories along which
all masses fall are the straight paths in this curved spacetime.
In Newtonian theory the Sun exerts a gravitational force the on the
Earth and the Earth moves around the Sun in response to that force.
In general relativity the mass of the Sun curves the surrounding
spacetime, and the Earth moves on a straight path in that curved
spacetime. Gravity is geometry.
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a Little about gravity and light
Do you know that there’s the bending of light. . . ?
Of-course light does bend. It’s the reason you sometimes see a
rainbow. It’s also why refracting telescopes work. And it’s why
lunar eclipses happen. And it’s why. . .
light is capable of bending. Except in the vacuum of space, it travels
in a straight line.
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Just as space-time changes the direction of planets and makes them
travel in orbits instead of straight lines, it changes the direction of
light. Yes, that’s right. Gravity can change the direction of light.
Our point of discussion is not Bending of light, Our point of
discussion is about Gravity....
According to Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, gravity is
no longer a force that acts on massive bodies, as viewed by Isaac
Newton’s universal gravitation.
Instead, general relativity links gravity to the geometry of spacetime
itself, and particularly to its curvature.
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In classical physics, time proceeds constantly and independently for all
objects.
In relativity, spacetime is a four-dimensional continuum combining the
familiar three dimensions of space with the dimension of time.
To account for gravity in relativity, the structure of this
four-dimensional spacetime must be extended beyond the rules of
classical geometry, where parallel lines never meet and the sum of a
triangle’s angles is 180°.
In general relativity, spacetime is not ‘flat’ but is curved by the
presence of massive bodies.
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This artistic representation visualises spacetime as a simplified,
two-dimensional surface, which is being distorted by the presence of
three massive bodies, represented as coloured spheres.
The distortion caused by each sphere is proportional to its mass.
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The curvature of spacetime influences the motion of massive bodies
within it; in turn, as massive bodies move in spacetime, the curvature
changes and the geometry of spacetime is in constant evolution.
Gravity then provides a description of the dynamic interaction
between matter and spacetime.
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A few properties of the gravitational interaction
From the Newtonian gravitational force law (eqn.1):
1 Gravity is a universal interaction: in Newtonian theory between all
mass, and, since E = mc 2 , in relativistic gravity between all forms of
energy.
2 Gravity is unscreened. There are no negative gravitational charges
to cancel positive ones, and therefore it is not possible to shield
(screen) the gravitational interaction. Gravity is always attractive.
3 Gravity is a long-range interaction. The Newtonian force law is a
1
r2
interaction. There is no length scale that sets a range for
gravitational interactions as there are for strong and weak
interactions.
4 Gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental interactions acting
between individual elementary particles at accessible energy scales.
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Cont..
The ratio of the gravitational attraction to the electromagnetic
repulsion between two protons separated by a distance r is
Gmp2
Fgrav r2
= e2
∼ 10−36 (2)
Felec
4πϵ0 r 2
Where mp is the mass of the proton and e is its charge.
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In Summary
These four facts explain a great deal about the role gravity plays in
physical phenomena.
They explain, for example, why, although it is the weakest force,
gravity governs the organization of the universe on the largest
distance scales of astrophysics and cosmology.
These distance scales are far beyond the subatomic ranges of the
strong and weak interactions.
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Electromagnetic interactions could be long range were there any
large-scale objects with net electric charge.
But the universe is electrically neutral, and electromagnetic forces are
so much stronger than gravitational forces that any large-scale net
charge is quickly neutralized.
Gravity is left to govern the structure of the universe on the largest
scales.
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Geometry as Physics
Gravity Is Geometry
It is an experimental fact that all bodies fall with the same
acceleration in a uniform gravitational field-independently of their
composition.
If Galileo could have dropped a cannonball and a feather from the
leaning tower of Pisa in a vacuum, they both would have accelerated
towards the ground at 980cm/s 2 .
This equality of accelerations is one of the most accurately tested
facts in physics.
For example, at the time of writing, the accelerations of the Earth
and the Moon as they fall toward the Sun are known to be equal to
an accuracy of 1.5x10−13 .
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conti....
Figure below shows a time vs. space plot of the height h of a ball
thrown straight upward from the surface of the Earth as a function of
time.
Figure: A ball thrown upward from the surface of the Earth with an initial
speed decelerates with the acceleration of gravity, g = 980 cm s 2 , reaches a
maximum height, and returns to Earth. The figure shows the characteristic
parabolic curve of time t vs. height h for a particular initial speed plotted
with the time axis vertical as is standard in relativity.
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.In Einstein’s general relativity, the bodies are following a straight
path in the curved spacetime produced by the Earth’s mass
The ball starts with some initial velocity, decelerates, reaches a
maximum height, accelerates down-ward, and returns to the surface
of the Earth.
Any other body thrown upward from the same initial position with
the same initial velocity would follow exactly the same curve.
Einstein’s idea was that this uniqueness of path in spacetime could be
explained in terms of the geometry of the four-dimensional union of
space and time called spacetime.
Einstein’s idea is that the Earth moves in its orbit around the Sun,
not because a force of gravity acts on it, but because it is following
the straightest possible path in the slightly non-Euclidean geometry of
spacetime produced by the Sun. JU
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Experiments in Geometry
There is a story that in the late l820s the great mathematician C. F.
Gauss carried out an experiment to verify one of the standard
theorems of the Euclidean geometry of space-that the interior
angles of a triangle add up to 180°.
Using the mountaintops of Hohenhagen, Brocken, and Inse1sberg
as vertices and assuming that light rays move on straight lines, he
is said to have measured the angles, found the sum, and determined
180° to the accuracy with which the angles could be measured.
The sum of the angles was not guaranteed to be 180° from logic
alone. Many geometries of physical space are possible that are
different from Euclid’s.
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Figure: A modem map of Gennany showing the locations of the peaks
Hohenhagen, Bracken, and Inselberg, which form the vertices of a triangle that JU
Gauss could uses
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Gauss had been able to carry out his experiment with sufficient
accuracy, he would have found a small difference in the sum of the
angles of triangle just due to the mass of the Earth, ML of order
(areaoftriangle) GML
|(sumofinteriorangles(radians))| − π ∼ 2
( L 2 ) (3)
RL R C
(Where RL is the Earth’s radius) together with contributions from
the Sun and the other planets.
GM
Note the appearance of the ratio RC 2
, which is characteristic of weak
relativistic effects,
The distances between the mountains are 69km, 85km, and 107km.
Using these, this works out to be a difference of order 10−15 radians
(!).
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2.3 Different Geometries
The idea of different geometries is easily illustrated in two dimensions.
In your studies of the Euclidean geometry of the plane, you met the
notions of point, straight line, distance, angle, parallel, triangle, circle,
chord, etc. Familiar theorems include the one just discussed for a
triangle: X
(interiorangle) = π (4)
Vertece
Another relates the ratio of the circumference to the radius of a circle:
(Circumference) C
= = 2π (5)
(radius) r
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The surface of a sphere provides an example of a different
two-dimensional geometry in which such results of plane geometry are
replaced by different theorems.
Straight lines can be defined on a sphere as the shortest distance
between two points, that is, as segments of great circles. Triangles
are made up of three intersecting great circles.
A circle is the locus of points equidistant (as measured on the
surface) from a point which is its center, etc.
For a spherical triangle of area A,
X A
(interiorangle) = π + (6)
a2
Vertece
Where a is the radius of the sphere.
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Equation 6 shows that the sum of the interior angles of a spherical
triangle is always greater than π.
Example isshown in Figure below, As the size of the triangle
becomes smaller and smaller compared with the radius of curvature a,
it becomes increasingly difficult to tell the difference between a flat
plane and the curved surface of the sphere. For triangles with very
small areas ( aA2 ≪ 1), the result (6) is well approximated by the flat
space result (4).
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Figure: A spherical triangle NAB where the sum of the interior angles is 270°.
The triangle consists of the parts of two lines of longitude 90° apart from the
North Pole to the equator and the part of the equator between them. These are
all segments of great circles and, therefore, straight lines in the geometry of the
sphere. JU
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Figure: The relation of the circumference to the radius of a circle in the geometry
of the surface of a sphere. A circle is the locus of points on the surface that are
equidistant (as measured on the surface) from its center point.
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With the bit of geometry shown in Figure above, the ratio of the
circumference to the radius of a circle on a sphere can be calculated
to be
(Circumference) C sin(r /a)
= = 2π (7)
(radius) r (r /a)
Again, if r ≪ a, the right-hand side reduces to the flat-space result
(5).
It is not necessary to leave the surface of the earth to determine its
geometry.
Surveyors (such as Gauss) working on the surface of the earth can
measure such things as the interior angles of a triangle and the
circumference and radius of circles.
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By fitting to formulas such as (6) and (7), they could, in principle,
tell if the geometry of the surface was spherical and determine the
radius of curvature a.
Similarly, by surveying in three dimensions we can, in principle,
determine the geometry of space without needing any extra
dimensions.
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