The probe proved Einstein was right

Early results from a NASA-designed probe to test Einstein's two important theories showed that the great scientist was right at least 1 in 2 cases.

Another 8 months to determine whether Einstein was right in the other case, experts said after analyzing data from the Gravity Probe B, which was launched in April 2004. This ship used Using 4 extremely precise gyroscopes to measure Einstein's two general relativity effects: sagging effect and dragging effect - twisting.

Imagine a heavy bowling ball, placed on a rubber net. The weight of the bowling ball will deflect the net, causing the rubber sheet to be bent in contact. According to general relativity, the same thing happens with large objects like the earth - it bends the space - time around you.

With the drag-and-drop effect: If you rotate the bowling ball, it will pull the rubber sheet to follow. Likewise, when the earth turns, it pulls out - time moves by itself, though extremely slow.

Gravity Probe B was introduced before being put into space (Photo: NASA)

In theory, for a period of 1 year, these two effects will cause the rotation angle of the gyroscopes to shift every minute.

The data provided by the Gravity Probe B clearly confirms Einstein's sagging effect. Scientists from Stanford University are continuing to process signals on the drag-and-drop effect. They expected to announce the final result of the experiment in December this year, after 8 months of analysis.

Previously, another research group had stated that the drag-and-drop effect Einstein had given was correct, by exploiting the gravitational field model provided by NASA's GRACE, launched in March 2002. But the researchers feared that the model was not sure if it was absolutely accurate. Therefore, the data of Gravity Probe B is believed to be more reliable.

T. An