THE SHIFTING OF
MERCURY'S ORBIT
EVIDENCE OF THE GENERAL
THEORY OF RELATIVITY
Presented by Group 3
General Theory Of
Relativity
Gravity is not the force between
masses, but the curvature of
spacetime due to the mass and
energy of massive objects.
Mercury and its orbit
Mercury is the smallest planet in our
solar system. It’s a little bigger than
Earth’s Moon.
The orbit of Mercury is shifting very
gradually over time due to the
curvature of space-time around the
massive sun, according to NASA
How does Mercury's orbit prove
the General Theory of Relativity?
The Sun and its gravity curve the fabric of
spacetime, causing the surrounding space to
be curved. This curvature causes the orbit
of Mercury to be different.
How does Mercury's orbit prove
the General Theory of Relativity?
NASA's Gravity Probe B mission, which was designed to test
Einstein's theory of general relativity. The website explains how
the gravity of the Earth and its rotation curves the fabric of
spacetime, and how this curvature affects the motion of objects
in space. The website also includes a section on the geodetic
effect, which is the phenomenon that causes the precession of
Mercury's orbit, as mentioned in the original statement.
ANALOGY
Picture a trampoline with
a bowling ball in the
center. The weight of the
bowling ball causes the
trampoline fabric to
curve downwards. If
you roll a marble around
the bowling ball, it won't
follow a straight line - it
will curve around the
bowling ball due to the
curved fabric caused by
the weight of the ball
Even if you add more
bowling balls (representing
the other planets) with less
weight, the marble still won't
follow an even level with the
bowling ball. This is similar to
how the mass and gravity of
the Sun cause the fabric of
spacetime to curve,
affecting the orbit of planets
like Mercury, as described
by Einstein's theory of
general relativity.
Here's a short video clip
visualizing Gravity.
SUMMARY
The General Theory of Relativity statesthat
gravity is not a force between objects, but
rather the curvature of spacetime caused by
massive objects. Mercury's orbit around the sun
doesn't match what we'd expect from other
planets' gravity, but the General Theory of
Relativity explains why. It says that the Sun's
mass and energy curve spacetime, causing
Mercury's orbit to differ. This then proves
Einstein's theory.
References
Text
Images
Videos
Info
Analogy
Visualization
https://solarsystem
https://uh.edu/~jclarag
.nasa.gov/news/95
e/astr3131/lectures/4/e
4/10-things-
instein/Einstein_stanfor
einstein-got-right/
d_Page7.html
https://www.space
https://lunar.colorado.e
.com/17661-theory-
du/jaburns/archive/ast
general-
r1020may08/Lectures/
relativity.html
Mar7.2.pdf
https://youtu.be/M
TY1Kje0yLg