Experimental gravitation

Abstract

100 years after the invention of General Relativity (GR) and 110 years after the development of Special Relativity (SR) we have to state that until now no single experiment or observation allows any doubt about the validity of these theories within the accuracy of the available data. Tests of GR can be divided into three categories: (i) test of the foundations of GR, (ii) tests of the consequences of GR, and (iii) test of the interplay between GR and quantum mechanics. In the first category, we have tests of the Einstein Equivalence Principle and the structure of the Newton axioms, in the second category we have effects like the gravitational redshift, light defection, gravitational time delay, the perihelion shift, the gravitomagnetic effects as the Lense-Thirring and Schiff effect, and gravitational waves. Tests of the effects of gravity on quantum systems are a first step towards experiments searching for a quantum gravity theory. In this paper, we also highlight practical applications in positioning, geodesy, and the International Atomic Time. After 100 years, GR can now definitely be regarded also as practical and applied science.