Back to Search
Start Over
Electromagnetic waves in a uniform gravitational field and Planck's postulate
- Source :
- RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia, instname
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- European Physical Society, 2012.
-
Abstract
- The gravitational redshift forms the central part of the majority of the classical tests for the general theory of relativity. It could be successfully checked even in laboratory experiments on the earth's surface. The standard derivation of this effect is based on the distortion of the local structure of spacetime induced by large masses. The resulting gravitational time-dilation near these masses gives rise to a frequency change of any periodic process, including electromagnetic oscillations as the wave propagates across the gravitational field. This phenomenon can be tackled with classical electrodynamics assuming a curved spacetime background and Maxwell's equations in a generally covariant form. In the present paper, we show that in a classical field-theoretical context the gravitational redshift can be interpreted as the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a medium with corresponding conductivity $\sigma=g/(\mu_0 c^3)$, where $g$ is the gravitational acceleration and $\mu_0$ is the vacuum magnetic permeability. Moreover, the energy density of the wave remains proportional to its frequency in agreement with Planck's postulate.<br />Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures
- Subjects :
- Physics::General Physics
Electromagnetic wave propagation
General relativity
Gravitational fields
General Physics and Astronomy
FOS: Physical sciences
Laboratory experiments
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
Gravitational acceleration
Covariant
Frequency changes
Electromagnetic radiation
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Gravitation
Classical fields
Energy density
Spacetime
Gravitational field
Gravitational accelerations
Classical electrodynamics
Classical electromagnetism
Physics
Magnetic permeability
Propagation of electromagnetic waves
Classical tests
Gravitational effects
General theory of relativity
Curved spacetime
Electromagnetic oscillations
Periodic process
Quantum electrodynamics
Local structure
MATEMATICA APLICADA
Gravitational redshift
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia, instname
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....0c7cd6c7e74d7982aa2be80d94c543f3