Article
Article
- Physics
- Relativity
- Gravitational redshift
- Astronomy & Space Science
- Astronomy - general
- Gravitational redshift
Gravitational redshift
Article By:
Aguirre, Anthony N. Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, California.
Layzer, David Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Last reviewed:November 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.299050
- Redshifts in stellar spectra
- Pound-Rebka experiment
- Atomic interferometry experiments
- Effect on Global Positioning System
- Redshifts from near supermassive black holes
- Cosmic background fluctuations
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
A shift toward longer wavelengths of spectral lines emitted by atoms in strong gravitational fields. One of three famous predictions of the general theory of relativity, this shift results from the slowing down of all periodic processes in a gravitational field, and as a direct consequence of Einstein's equivalence principle; it can also be seen as a manifestation of the conservation of energy. For weak gravitational fields, the amount of the shift is proportional to the difference in gravitational potential between the source and the receiver. See also: Gravitation; Relativity; Conservation of energy
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