A stunning experiment with three stars confirms the basic principle of the theory of relativity

(ORDO NEWS) — Once again, scientists have confirmed the main component of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

In particular, according to a study published this month in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics , a trio of two white dwarf stars and a collapsing neutron star demonstrated the concept of free fall.

The idea is that gravity accelerates every falling object with the same speed.

This idea was challenged under extreme conditions, but the incredibly accurate measurements of three stars confirmed it – and at the same time – Einstein’s theory.

Scientists from the University of Manchester have revealed an unusual case of free fall among three stars.

Firstly, there is a white dwarf star and a pulsar – a dead star, weighing 1.44 times heavier than the Sun, with a diameter of 25 kilometers – they quickly rotate around each other.

Both also revolve around another white dwarf, just as the Earth and the Moon revolve around the Sun and each other.

This provided an unusual opportunity: while astronomers could carry out similar experiments in our solar system, scientists suggested that objects held together by their own gravitational attraction, like pulsars, could violate the universality of gravity.

Such a violation would also refute the general theory of relativity, which assumes constant gravitational acceleration in all scenarios.

But by tracking the position of three stars down to the nanosecond, a team of scientists found that the first white dwarf and the pulsar – both accelerated to the second white dwarf at the same speed – again confirming the general relativity.

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