Dimensional Analysis and General Relativity

摘要

Newton's law of gravitation is a central topicin the first-year physics curriculum. A lec-turer can go beyond the physical details anduse the history of gravitation to discuss the devel-opment of scientific ideas; unfortunately, the mostrecent chapter in this history, general relativity, isnot covered in first-year courses. This paper discussessome topics that can be introduced with the judi-cious use of the dimensionless quantity GM/Rc~2:deflection of light by a massive object, perihelionprecession, gravitational redshifts, and the GlobalPositioning System (GPS).