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Re: Einstein's factor of 2 in starlight deflection
Posted:
Dec 3, 2012 5:05 PM
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Einstein's factor of 2 was the right adjustment as later observations show.
If spacetime curvature is gravity or influences gravity then it should not necessarily change the numerical structure of formulae. The original choices of Soldner and Einstein were right and wrong. They were right for the distance that the light beam strayed from the straight line course and wrong for angle. Distance in formula is represented by radius but does not necessarily mean the radius of the star/Sun. In a gradient gravitational field such as the Solar System radius is proportional to gravitational field hemisphere. In a gradient gravitational field with ever weakening gravity but expanding distances between any system of markers the idea of locally measuring the distance a lightbeam has strayed from the straight and narrow is a tedious one.
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