The phenomenon of gravitational repulsion is described within the context of the general theory of relativity. The theory implies that if a vacuum has a nonvanishing energy, then its gravitational mass density will be negative. In particular, this implies that the universe will expand exponentially during the vacuum dominated inflationary era. It is suggested that the observed expansion of the universe may be explained as a result of repulsive gravitation.
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© 1986 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1986
American Association of Physics Teachers
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