By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
A simple experiment: a star, a telescope, and a spinning ball. So simple, it took 40 years to come to fruition. This was the description of the Gravity Probe B mission as described during our LiveChat by Jeffery Kolodziejchek and Tony Lyons of Marshall Space Flight Center. 105 OLC members participated in the chat, which included a brief history of time-space theories and the nature of gravity.
Gravity Probe B used a precision pointing telescope to measure the effect of gravity on the most precise gyroscopes ever constructed. Measuring the change in these gyros enabled physicists to verify some of Einstein’s predictions on the effect of a large mass (in this case the planet Earth) on the space-time continuum. Our presenters only had time to highlight the mission and its findings, but have provided much more information in their presentation. You can download a PDF of the entire presentation including the extra slides from the Discussion Board.
If you missed this great chat, remember you can download it from the archive. Three versions are made available, usually by the following Monday. You can download a Collaborate file that opens up and plays in the same chat window we use for our live event. Or you can download it as a Quicktime or MP3 file that can be viewed or heard on a pad or smartphone. As always, note the password given at the end of the presentation to access the quiz for your points.
Next week, our INSPIRE team will be meeting in Orlando to discuss and plan for our next year of the OLC and Summer STEM Experiences, but we will still have a chat on Thursday! Sign up now to hear Dave Seal of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory chat about planning the course of our space probes to the planets. See you then!
P.S. Have you built the Gravity Probe B paper model? Stay tuned on Monday for some hints and tips on building paper models, as well as pictures of my completed GP-B!
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