INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RELATIVISTIC THEORIES OF GRAVITATION, LONDON, 1965, VOLUME I.
Abstract
About 300 delegates from all parts of the world met from the 1st to the 10th July in London at Imperial College for the 5th International Conference on relativity. Most interesting discussions on the question of gravitational collapse were held. Considerably more is now known about bodies collapsing under their own gravitational stresses than a year ago. The equations of collapse have been integrated numerically, notably by Michael May, and it is found that certain kinds of matter can, instead of undergoing a catastrophic collapse, 'bounce'. The final state becomes one of ultimate dispersion. Whether such behaviour can occur in practice is still in doubt. The great interest in collapsing bodies has been caused by the discovery of quasars, and it seemed for a considerable time that the collapsing bodies and the quasars were identical. The large amounts of energy radiated by quasers may well require a source of energy liberating a larger fraction of the mass than nuclear reaction can do, and the only such possibility seems to be gravitational contraction and collapse. However the rapidly collapsing body suffers from two great defects when providing so much energy. The matter is moving inwards at a high speed, producing an extreme Doppler shift to the red and the extreme concentration produces a strong gravitational field and so a further shift to the red, due to the usual general relativistic effect. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0629097
Entities
People
- H. Bondi
Organizations
- Columbia University