Abstract
A charged parallel plate capacitor contains less electric energy when its plates are oriented parallel to a gravitational field than it contains when its plates are oriented perpendicular to the same field. If this energy difference can be detected by an observer located inside the field, then the capacitor should experience a torque until the electric field is perpendicular to the radial direction.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Franklin, A. (1993) The Rise and Fall of the Fifth Force. New York: American Institute of Physics.
Anandan, J. (1984) New Relativistic Gravitational Effects Using Charged-Particle Interferometry. General Relativity and Gravitation 16, 33–41.
Nolan, P.J. (1993) Fundamentals of College Physics, p. 884. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown.
Quoted by Pais, A. (1982) in Subtle is the Lord Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chap. 9, from Einstein, A. (1907) Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik 4, 411.
Foster, J. and Nightingale, J.D. (1979) A Short Course in General Relativity, p. 95. London: Longman.
Griffiths, D.J. (1989) Introduction to Electrodynamics, 2nd edn, p. 96. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weber, W., Hickman, H. A possible interaction between gravity and the electric field. Speculations in Science and Technology 20, 133–136 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018520805137
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018520805137