Another Test of General Relativity
TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
A team of Japanese scientists has developed a new way to test general relativity, specifically its predictions regarding black holes. General relativity predicts that when mass is concentrated into a small enough volume, a black hole forms. Close to the black hole, the gravitational pull prevents even light from escaping. While most scientists are convinced that black holes exist, they remain unsure of many details regarding the formation process and final properties of black holes. However, neutrinos emitted during black hole formation may fill in many of those details and illuminate the behavior of dense objects that do not form black holes. RTB welcomes these new techniques and anticipates that future results will strengthen the conclusion that general relativity accurately describes the dynamics of the universe.
- K. Sumiyoshi et al., “Neutrino Signals from the Formation of a Black Hole: A Probe of the Equation of State of Dense Matter,” Physical Review Letters 97 (2006): 091101.
- https://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v97/e091101
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