[Soul Surfer (OP)]

I have been trying to find good references to this on the web but so far have not been very successful (although it has led me to this interesting forum).  However a quick scan suggests that there are not many real experts around here only lots of interested parties with interesting ideas.

The real question is that when one body is orbiting another body under grvitational attraction at speeds significant with respect to the velocity of light what is the value of the mass of the body you should use in the calculation of the orbital parameters is it the rest mass of the body or the rest mass plus the extra mass associated with the velocity of the body, because as a body increses its velocity towards the speed of liht it gets more difficult to accelerate it further and this can be interpreded as an increase in its effective inertial mass

Also what do relativistic orbits look like. I know that a tiny relatavistic effect is suppose to cause a rotation of the perihelion of the planet mercury but what happens when elliptical orbets get more extreme

Learn, create, test and tell
evolution rules in all things

[ukmicky]

Hi Ian

I agree this is a interesting forum.
Sadly I’m just one of them interested parties [] but we do have a few members with the necessary academic background who could help you. Hopefully they will get back to you[]


Michael                                      

[neilep]

Where's Gsmollin and Solvay when we need them ?...probably enjoying a life rather than being sad like me and being here on a Saturday evening !!!

Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

[Dr. Praetoria]

You could check out this web page--

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/photon_mass.html

Hope it helps.
Doc

[Soul Surfer (OP)]

Thank you that reference is helpful and reminds me of the equations but as far as I can see does not answer my question directly but with a bit of analysis may offer an answer. So far with a quick skim though it and some of its related documents I have seen a possible  answer in both directions and also one that says it might even be somewhere in between  :-)  I think I'd better sleep on it.



Learn, create, test and tell
evolution rules in all things

[Solvay_1927]

quote:Where's Gsmollin and Solvay when we need them ?...

Whaddaya mean, "and Solvay"?! I'm not in the same league as gsmollin &co, I'm just an amateur beginner!  (Neil, don't tell me that I've even managed to fool you with my bluffing and pretending to sound authoritative! [])

Anyway, I don't know the answer to this question.  But it's a good one, Ian.  Let us know if you get an answer.