Open AccessEinstein's Rocket Ship, the Deflection of Light and the Precession of the Orbital Perihelion
Author(s) -
Firmin J. Oliveira
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european scientific journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1857-7881
pISSN - 1857-7431
DOI - 10.19044/esj.2018.v14n15p535
Subject(s) - deflection (physics) , physics , inertial frame of reference , classical mechanics , gravitational field , optics , mechanics
The nature of the principle of equivalence is explored. The light ray travel path in an accelerated reference frame, a rocket ship, is described and the rocket ship model is used to derive the deflection of light by a massive body. By accounting for the effect of the velocity of the accelerated observer relative to an inertial frame, the additional deflection angle is obtained due to the aberration of the light beam. This model is applied to the deflection of light by a central gravitational field, giving the total deflection angle in agreement with the standard result. Also, a novel approach is given by considering the deflection of light by a massive body to obtain the precession of the perihelion of a planet.