Mentor

James T. Wheeler

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

12-3-2015

First Page

1

Last Page

12

Abstract

General Relativity is a major area of study in physics. It allows us to calculate the motion and interaction of particles in a non-Euclidean space-time. This presentation will examine the process of finding the Schwarzschild metric tensor field by finding a solution of the Einstein Equation for a non-rotating spherical mass. A general form of the Schwarzschild metric tenor field will be used to calculate the Riemann curvature tensor and subsequently the Ricci tensor and Ricci scalar which will be used to find a vacuum solution to the Einstein Equation. Once the solutions of the Einstein Equation are found, they can be plugged into the Schwarzschild metric tensor field and equations of motion can be calculated through the geodesic equation. This presentation will find the orbits for massive particles moving around and into a black hole. Overall, this presentation will be an examination of the basic calculations that are done in General Relativity and it will show how matter moves in a curved space-time.

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