Baron Munchausen tests Einstein's Equivalence Principle

Consider a cannonball shot out of an old fashion cannon. In Newton's
theory the Earth is considered to be a geodesic inertial frame
(approximately) and the parabolic path of the cannonball is not
"geodesic". Newton's 3D space is flat with absolute simultaneity
(Galilean relativity). The Newtonian geodesic is globally a straight
line with the test particle moving at constant speed. There is a scalar
Newtonian potential energy field per unit test mass and the real
objective Newtonian gravity force in the "inertial frame" of the Earth
is the negative gradient of that potential scalar field. Baron
Munchausen sitting on the cannonball feels no weight because there is no
reaction force pushing back on the Baron since he and the cannonball are
accelerating exactly the same way.

http://www.zonalibre.org/blog/divers...munchausen.jpg

The Baron is weightless here in both Newton's theory and Einstein's
theory, but the explanations within each paradigm are opposite to each
other. Newton says the Baron's local rest frame is non-geodesic and
there is a real gravity force on the Baron relative to the Earth's frame
although the Baron feels no weight. Einstein says the Baron's rest frame
is geodesic and there is no real gravity force on the Baron. Both are
correct because the meaning of "geodesic" is different in the two
theories. The Baron's local rest frame is not geodesic in Newton's flat
space + time geometry, but it is geodesic in Einstein's curved
space-time geometry.

In Newton's theory standing on the Earth's surface, one feels weight
because of the quantum electrical reaction forces to the gravity force
pushing you down on the Earth.

In Einstein's theory the parabolic path is geodesic in curved spacetime.
The Earth's surface is a non-inertial frame. Although the center of the
Earth is on a geodesic in curved spacetime, the Earth's quantum
electrical rigidity prevents you from following a geodesic path. That is
the non-gravity electrical force pushing you off your natural geodesic
path in the curved spacetime that you feel as g-force. Locally, you can
be out in space, fire a rocket and feel exactly the same g-force or
weight. "Locally" means you do not choose to make a tidal measurement
and/or the scale of your detector is small enough so that tidal geodesic
deviation is inside the ambient noise of your curvature detector. That
is, the signal-to-noise ratio is effectively zero.

Note that the geodesic in a LIF is special relativistic (and Newtonian
for small speeds) in the small, i.e. straight line with particle at
constant speed but only over a small distance for a small time. The
total geodesic in curved spacetime is described by a sequence of
partially overlapping local frames. When those frames are LIF the
segments of motion are simplest i.e. Newtonian in the small scale for
small speeds c.


On Aug 12, 2006, at 11:00 PM, Jack Sarfatti wrote:

change

Suppose, on the other hand, for same L conditions above, the Elevator is
LNIF, in both cases, i.e. curved space-time or flat space-time, you need
a non-gravity force and you need the SAME 100% nongravity force in
either case to feel the same "weight" i.e. g-force inside the elevator.
The g-force is 100% inertial in either case! Curved or no in a
non-geodesic local frame. This is subtle and you missed it by thinking
in Newtonian terms where there is a "gravity force" ~ - GradV. Einstein
eliminates "gravity force" by replacing what the geodesic means.

to

Suppose, on the other hand, for same L conditions above, the Elevator is
LNIF, in both cases, i.e. curved space-time or flat space-time, you need
a non-gravity force and you need the SAME nongravity force in either
case to feel the same "weight," i.e. g-force inside the elevator. The
g-force is 100% inertial in either case! Curved or no in a non-geodesic
local frame. This is subtle and you missed it by thinking in Newtonian
terms where there is a "gravity force" ~ - GradV. Einstein eliminates
"gravity force" by replacing what the geodesic means.