Date/Time
Date(s) - 19/10/2005
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Title: The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment: A Centenary Perspective

Speaker: Dr. Clifford Will

Institute: Washington University, Physics Department

Location: ABB 102

Description:

We review the experimental evidence for Einstein’s general relativity. Tests of the Einstein Equivalence Principle support the postulates of curved spacetime, while solar-system experiments strongly confirm weak-field general relativity. The Binary Pulsar provides tests of gravitational-wave damping and of strong-field general relativity. We describe ongoing and future experiments, such as the recently completed Stanford Gyroscope Experiment, a satellite test of the Equivalence principle, and tests of gravity at short distance to look for extra spatial dimensions. Recently operational laser interferometric gravitational-wave observatories, and a future space interferometer, may provide new tests via the properties of gravitational waves.