Astronomy / Space Astronomers Have Caught a Star Literally Dragging Space-Time Around With It

[Manticore]

One of the predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity is that any spinning body drags the very fabric of space-time in its vicinity around with it. This is known as "frame-dragging".

In everyday life, frame-dragging is both undetectable and inconsequential, as the effect is so ridiculously tiny. Detecting the frame-dragging caused by the entire Earth's spin requires satellites such as the US$750 million Gravity Probe B, and the detection of angular changes in gyroscopes equivalent to just one degree every 100,000 years or so.

Astronomers Have Caught a Star Literally Dragging Space-Time Around With It

One of the predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity is that any spinning body drags the very fabric of space-time in its vicinity around with it.

www.sciencealert.com

Scientists studying tiny changes in a pulsar’s signal have proven that massive rotating objects drag surrounding spacetime around with them as they spin.
The process, called frame dragging, was predicted more than a century ago by Austrian mathematicians Josef Lense and Hans Thirring, as a consequence of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Catching frame dragging in action

A 20-year commitment verifies Einstein’s prediction of general relativity.

cosmosmagazine.com

 

[Robin of Spiritwood]

If only this kind of stuff were understandable conceptually, rather than mathematically derived.

 

[Manticore]

I find it fascinating.

As for Special Relativity the whole idea the local frame in space-time........ "Frame Shift Drive Charging".

 

[Raino]

Yep, very interesting find/proof, BTW, it is all about dilation...

 

[Dragsham]

Er. It's gravity. Think of water down a plug. The swirl. That's how planets and stars rotation affects time. Same thing. Common sense. Some swirls are quicker or wotever. So explains the time difference. If suddenly sol span faster it's gravity would increase thus spinning us faster around it shortening our day and year considerably.

 

[lysan]

My brain is having a hard time understanding this, but fascinating anyway!

 

[Patrick_68000]

My brain is having a hard time understanding this, but fascinating anyway!

Especially on a Monday morning.

 

[Vasco Sapien]

My brain is having a hard time understanding this, but fascinating anyway!

Put a glass upside down on a table cloth, press down and then twist... the table cloth will drag and create a spiral effect. Space time does the same around a massive rotating object Except its in 3D.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Put a glass upside down on a table cloth, press down and then twist... the table cloth will drag and create a spiral effect. Space time does the same around a massive rotating object Except its in 3D.

It was much simpler when everything was 2D.

 

[Vasco Sapien]

It was much simpler when everything was 2D.

Its easier to understand our 3 spacial dimentions when looking at them from the point of view of 2 spacial dimensions.
But try understanding 4 spacial dimensions from the point of view of 3 spacial dimensions.

See if you can get your head around a Tesseract - a 3D shadow of a 4D cube.