The deflection of relativistic massive particles in a spherically symmetric gravitational field is analyzed according to general relativity and compared with results obtained according to Newtonian and special relativistic theories of gravity. The examples chosen highlight the striking disparity in the predictions of the three theories and show that deflection experiments on massive particles can provide an alternative test of the equivalence principle in general relativity.
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© 1980 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1980
American Association of Physics Teachers
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