Version 1
: Received: 3 August 2023 / Approved: 4 August 2023 / Online: 7 August 2023 (11:47:33 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 30 October 2023 / Approved: 31 October 2023 / Online: 31 October 2023 (10:32:32 CET)
How to cite:
D'Abramo, G. Troubles With Gravitational Frequency Shift Derived From Energy Conservation. Preprints2023, 2023080531. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0531.v2
D'Abramo, G. Troubles With Gravitational Frequency Shift Derived From Energy Conservation. Preprints 2023, 2023080531. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0531.v2
D'Abramo, G. Troubles With Gravitational Frequency Shift Derived From Energy Conservation. Preprints2023, 2023080531. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0531.v2
APA Style
D'Abramo, G. (2023). Troubles With Gravitational Frequency Shift Derived From Energy Conservation. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0531.v2
Chicago/Turabian Style
D'Abramo, G. 2023 "Troubles With Gravitational Frequency Shift Derived From Energy Conservation" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0531.v2
Abstract
In physics, thought experiments are impressive heuristic tools. They are valuable instruments to help scientists find new results and to teach students the known ones. However, as we shall show, they should always be received with prudence, even when they are a shortcut to 'prove' well-established results. Here, we show that the most widely known thought experiments devised to derive the gravitational frequency shift from energy conservation are, in fact, problematic. When properly set and correctly read, those thought experiments reveal that the existence of the gravitational frequency shift is, in fact, at odds with energy conservation. We also propose two new simple thought experiments, one using the conservation of energy and the other the conservation of linear momentum, that corroborate that conclusion, showing that those conservation principles do not imply the gravitational frequency shift. We think that our results may be of some epistemological interest and could serve as a warning sign on how thought experiments should be received and trusted.
Keywords
special relativity; general relativity; gravitational frequency shift; conservation of energy; conservation of linear momentum; thought experiments; history and philosophy of physics
Subject
Physical Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received:
31 October 2023
Commenter:
Germano D'Abramo
Commenter's Conflict of Interests:
Author
Comment:
- I sensibly reduced Section 2; - I added a section (Section 3); - I added Appendix A (along with a new figure); - I reduced the length of the Abstract and the Conclusion section to make it more general; - I added the Acknowledgments section; - I modified the References style.
Commenter: Germano D'Abramo
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
- I added a section (Section 3);
- I added Appendix A (along with a new figure);
- I reduced the length of the Abstract and the Conclusion section to make it more general;
- I added the Acknowledgments section;
- I modified the References style.