Physics
Scientific paper
Jan 1990
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1990ppc..work.....a&link_type=abstract
Presented at the Summer Workshop on Particle Physics and Cosmology, Trieste, Italy, Jul. 1989; ICTP Colloquia, Trieste, Italy, N
Physics
Centrifugal Force, Classical Mechanics, Gravitational Fields, Particle Trajectories, Photons, Relativity, Neutron Stars, Pulsars, Stellar Rotation
Scientific paper
Contrary to what is stated in the Newtonian dynamics, rotation of a reference frame is not sufficient for the occurrence of the centrifugal force. Instead, the necessary and sufficient condition is a motion along a path different from that of a photon trajectory in space. This calls for a rather fundamental change in understanding of the very nature of the centrifugal force. It also has important practical physical consequences: in a strong gravitational field, where light trajectories are substantially curved, centrifugal force is much weaker than the Newtonian theory predicts. In addition, when there are closed (circular) photon trajectories in space, the centrifugal force may reverse its direction - it attracts towards the rotation axis. The weakening of the centrifugal force in strong gravitational fields and the reversal of its direction in the neighborhood of close photon trajectories in space fully and clearly explain puzzling examples of counter intuitive behavior of dynamical effects of rotation found previously by several authors: e.g., reversal of the ellipticity behavior of the relativistic Maclaurin spheroids (Chandrasekhar and Miller, 1974), reversal of the viscous torque action (Anderson and Lemos, 1988), or the fact that rotation increases internal pressure of a sufficiently compact star (Abramowicz and Wagoner, 1974). Weakening of the centrifugal force implies that rotating neutron stars are less oblate (and probably more stable) than the Newtonian theory predicts. This is important for the recently discussed question of how fast can pulsars spin.
No associations
LandOfFree
Unexpected properties of the centrifugal force does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Unexpected properties of the centrifugal force, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Unexpected properties of the centrifugal force will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1565085