The line
of the orbit would not then be a closed one but in the course of time
it would fill up an annular part of the orbital plane, viz. between
the circle of least and the circle of greatest distance of the planet
from the sun.
According also to the general theory of relativity, which differs of
course from the theory of Newton, a small variation from the
Newton-Kepler motion of a planet in its orbit should take place, and
in such away, that the angle described by the radius sun-planet
between one perhelion and the next should exceed that corresponding to
one complete revolution by an amount given by
eq. 41: file eq41.gif
(N.B. -- One complete revolution corresponds to the angle 2p in the
absolute angular measure customary in physics, and the above
expression giver the amount by which the radius sun-planet exceeds
this angle during the interval between one perihelion and the next.)
In this expression a represents the major semi-axis of the ellipse, e
its eccentricity, c the velocity of light, and T the period of
revolution of the planet. Our result may also be stated as follows :
According to the general theory of relativity, the major axis of the
ellipse rotates round the sun in the same sense as the orbital motion
of the planet.
Pages:
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148