Data Confirms that Einstein at least half right about Time Space

Finally! After attending Dr. Everitt’s report last year (when data collection was complete) the first phase of Gravity Probe B results are finally in, confirming the geodetic effect! It’ll be another 8 or 9 months before the team can report on frame-dragging. This is truly some of the most exciting scientific work I’ve been privileged to witness in my brief time on the planet and like thousands of others, I’m practically holding my breath to hear the next stage of results.<blockquote>Today, Everitt and his team are poised to share what they have found so far-namely that the data from the GP-B gyroscopes clearly confirm Einstein’s predicted geodetic effect to a precision of better than 1 percent. However, the frame-dragging effect is 170 times smaller than the geodetic effect, and Stanford scientists are still extracting its signature from the spacecraft data. The GP-B instrument has ample resolution to measure the frame-dragging effect precisely, but the team has discovered small torque and sensor effects that must be accurately modeled and removed from the result.</blockquote>If you want to stay ahead of the pack for future developments, subscribe to the announcements list, or better yet:<blockquote>Norbert Bartel, Professor of Astrophysics and Space Sciences at York University in Toronto, Canada, has produced and directed a 26-minute documentary movie about the Gravity Probe B experiment entitled, Testing Einstein’s Universe. This movie, along with 80 minutes of additional video about relativity, physics, and astronomy is available on a DVD, which you can purchase from the Website.</blockquote>