Einstein was wrong Relativity is still valid!

Now, a team of researchers from the Leibniz University of Hannover and the University of Bremen have confirmed another equivalence principle: the confirmation that gravitational interactions are equal and opposite.

"Equivalence of Active and Passive Gravitational Mass Tested with Lunar Laser Ranging."

Using half a century of Lunar Laser Ranging data, scientists have confirmed with 100 times the precision that all properties of mass are equivalent. This discovery greatly supports Einstein's Principle of Equivalence, the cornerstone of relativity.

One of the most fundamental assumptions of fundamental physics is that the different properties of mass (weight, inertia, and gravity) are always the same in their interrelationships. Without this equivalence, Einstein's theory of relativity would be overturned and our current physics textbooks would have to be rewritten. Although all measurements to date confirm the equivalence principle, quantum theory assumes that there should be a violation of the equivalence principle.

This inconsistency between Einstein's theory of gravity and modern quantum theory is precisely why a more precise test of the equivalence principle has become particularly important.

A research group at the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen, in collaboration with the Institute for Geodesy (IFE) of the Leibniz University of Hannover, has now succeeded in proving with a factor of 100 precision that passive and active gravitational masses are always equivalent: regardless of the specific composition of the respective masses.

This research was carried out within the framework of the QuantumFrontiers cluster of excellence.

Specifically, inertial mass resists acceleration. For example, when a car starts, inertial mass pushes us backwards into our seats.

Passive gravitational mass responds to gravity and produces our weight on Earth; active gravitational mass refers to the gravitational force exerted by an object, or more accurately, the magnitude of an object's gravitational field. The equivalence of these properties is the basis of general relativity. Thus, the equivalence of inertial mass and passive gravitational mass, as well as the equivalence of passive gravitational mass and active gravitational mass, is being tested with increasing precision.

If we assume that passive and active gravitational masses are not equal - their ratio depends on the material - then objects made of different materials with different centers of mass will accelerate themselves. Since the Moon consists of an aluminum shell and an iron core with canceling centers of mass, the Moon should accelerate.

Changes in the geocentric position of a tidal generating body due to time delays.

This hypothetical change in velocity can be measured with high precision by "Lunar Laser Ranging". This involves aiming a laser beam from the Earth at reflectors on the Moon that were placed there by the Apollo missions and the Soviet Lunar Program. The round-trip times of the laser beams have since been recorded. The team analyzed data collected over a 50-year period from 1970 to 2022 and investigated this mass difference effect. Since no effect was found, this means that the passive and active gravitational masses are equal, to about 14 decimal places.

--This estimate is 100 times more accurate than the best 1986 study.

The LUH's Institute of Geodesy is one of only four centers in the world that analyzes lunar laser ranging, and has unique expertise in evaluating the data and, in particular, testing general relativity. In the current study, the institute analyzed lunar laser ranging measurements, including error analysis and interpretation of results.

Back in 1987, scientists began using the Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiment to conduct relevant tests, and now the latest study by ZARM and the IFE team involves more data points and more sophisticated analysis, and makes a stronger case for the results.

In the future, lunar missions complementing LLR experiments may further tighten the constraints.

Reference link:

[1] https://physics.aps.org/articles/v16/s97

[2]https://www.devhardware.com/einsteins-theory-of-relativity-remains-strong-after-the-quantum-challenge/

[3] https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/94