At the heart of Einstein’s theory of gravity (general relativity) is the equivalence principle. The equivalence principle says that there is no difference between being stationary and subject to ...

Since Galileo Galilei and Newton, the assumption is valid that inert and heavy mass are equivalent. This is, however, questioned by new physical theories such as the String theory. Now, the ...

In the late 1500s, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei conceived of an experiment that changed a foundation of physics. He mulled — and by some accounts actually tested — what would happen if two ...

One of the most counter-intuitive notions in physics is that all objects fall at the same rate, regardless of mass, aka the equivalence principle. This was memorably illustrated in 1971 by NASA Apollo ...

How Einstein's equivalence principle extends to the quantum world has been puzzling physicists for decades, but a research team has now found the key to this question. How Einstein's equivalence ...

For the first time in space, scientists have produced a mixture of two quantum gases made of two types of atoms. Accomplished with NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station, ...

Physicists in Germany have used an atomic interferometer to perform the most accurate ever test of the equivalence principle at the level of atoms. Sebastian Fray and colleagues at the Max Planck ...

Monisha Ravisetti was a science writer at CNET. She covered climate change, space rockets, mathematical puzzles, dinosaur bones, black holes, supernovas, and sometimes, the drama of philosophical ...

Free falling: Einstein's equivalence principle holds that the motion of freely-falling bodies (whether apples, oranges, or anything else) is independent of their composition. The Cold Atom Laboratory ...

The physics of the microrealm involves two famous and bizarre concepts: The first is that prior to observation, it is impossible to know with certainty the outcome of a measurement on a particle; ...

Since Galileo Galilei and Newton, the assumption is valid that inert and heavy mass are equivalent. This is, however, questioned by new physical theories such as the String theory. Now, the ...