On The Equivalence Principle*

The Equivalence Principle, the Covariance Principle

The equivalence principle, which states the local equivalence between acceleration and gravity, requires that a free falling observer must result in a co-moving local Minkowski space. On the other hand, covariance principle assumes any Gaussian system to be valid as a space-time coordinate system. Given the mathematical existence of the co-moving local Minkowski space along a time-like geodesic...

The Equivalence Principle

Questioning the Equivalence Principle

The Equivalence Principle (EP) is not one of the “universal” principles of physics (like the Action Principle). It is a heuristic hypothesis which was introduced by Einstein in 1907, and used by him to construct his theory of General Relativity. In modern language, the (Einsteinian) EP consists in assuming that the only long-range field with gravitational-strength couplings to matter is a massl...

Fabbri On the Principle of Equivalence

We discuss the Principle of Equivalence in its relationship with Weyl Theorem to induce the interpretation of gravity as geometrical effect; this geometrization of gravity is meaningful only if the geometry is restricted in a certain way. We show what is the most general geometry in which gravity can be geometrized according to the fundamental idea expressed through Weyl theorem by the Principl...

On the Equivalence Principle of Quantum Mechanics

A recent concept in theoretical physics, motivated in string duality and M–theory, is the notion that not all quantum theories arise from quantising a classical system. Also, a given quantum model may possess more than just one classical limit. In view of these developments, we analyse some general properties that quantum mechanics must satisfy, if it is not to be formulated as a quantisation o...