自转的地球也能产生时空扭曲？(双语有声)
作者：amber_cy
来源：沪江论坛
2011-07-22 07:00
Earth's Mass and Motion Warps Spacetime as Einstein Said
自转的地球也能产生时空扭曲？
Albert Einstein wins again. A new study has confirmed another prediction of his theory of general relativity. The corroboration appears online in the journal Physical Review Letters. [Francis Everitt et al., citation to come.]
一项新的研究再次验证爱因斯坦的另一个广义相对论的预言。此研究结果发表在《物理评论快报》网络版上。
Einstein’s theory recognizes that massive objects warp the very fabric of space and time. If the theory is true, then the Earth should stretch the spacetime in which it sits, like a bowling ball would deform a trampoline. What’s more, the Earth’s rotation should also produce a drag on local spacetime, like a marble spinning in molasses would pull the goop around it.
爱因斯坦的理论指出巨大的物体会对息息相关的时间和空间产生扭曲。如果该理论正确，那么，就像是一个处在弹簧垫的保龄球会使它周围的弹簧垫产生形变一样，地球应该也能扭曲它所处的时空。而且，自转的地球也会对周围的时空产生一个拽引力，就像一颗弹珠在糖浆中旋转可以带动它周围的液体。
To measure these minor deformations, scientists sent four gyroscopes into space in a mission called Gravity Probe B. And they found that after circling the Earth some 5000 times the gyroscopes’ angle of spin had changed, ever-so-slightly, in response to the Earth’s gravitational pull. Which proves that the old man was right.
为了测量这些微小的时空形变，科学家将4个回转仪送至太空执行代号为“重力探针B”行动。结果发现，在围绕地球旋转大概5000次后，回转仪的旋转角度在地球的重力拖动作用下发生了十分微小的改变，这也验证了爱因斯坦的理论。
Gravity Probe B was first conceived in 1959. [1976 paper envisioning the experimental setup] And the technology created to make the mission fly has been applied in work on the big bang theory—the real theory, not the TV show—and in GPS. Which Einstein would have loved. Because even a genius can get lost on the highway.
“重力探针B”在1959年首次被提出，直至1976年才付诸实现。为完成此次飞行任务，许多为验证宇宙大爆炸（理论研究，不是电视秀节目）和GPS技术也应用到其中，而这些技术也是爱因斯坦所青睐的---因为这位天才偶尔也会在高速路上迷路。
—Karen Hopkin