🚀 go-pugleaf

Here is a "paradox" in general relativity.  (It is no more a paradox
than the twins paradox in special relativity, but it is amusing.)

Consider an accelerating charged particle.  It radiates electromagnetic
radiation at a rate proportional to the acceleration squared.
A charged particle that is forced to move in a circle radiates, because 
it is accelerated.  Now consider that same charged particle in orbit 
around another body.  The particle, of course, feels no acceleration.  
(It is in freefall.)  Does it radiate?

A similar problem: now consider a charged particle sitting on your desk. 
According to GR, acceleration and gravitation are locally indistinguishable.
So does any charged particle sitting your desk radiate energy???
If not, does that mean that a uniformly accelerating particle does not
radiate?

I will post my explanations of what is going on here (which may or may
not be the same as anyone elses) in a little while.
-- 
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Courtenay Footman		ARPA:	cpf@lnssun1.tn.cornell.edu
Lab. of Nuclear Studies		Usenet:	cornell!lnssun1!cpf
Cornell University		Bitnet: cpf%lnssun1.tn.cornell.edu@WISCVM.BITNET