Von Eotvos's torsion scale. This device, designed to measure gravitational acceleration, was built and operated by the Hungarian physicist Lorand von
Von Eotvos's torsion scale. This device, designed to measure gravitational acceleration, was built and operated by the Hungarian physicist Lorand von Eotvos (1848-1919). His 1889 experiment measured the differences in the gravitational acceleration of different masses. This difference was found to be effectively zero, showing that mass and inertia are equivalent. This is a central postulate of Einstein's 1915 theory of General Relativity. A torsion scale can measure tiny attractions between laboratory-scale masses, doing so by small changes in the torsion of twisted wires.
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Keywords: 1800s, 1889, 19th, century, device, einstein, eotvos, equipment, equivalence, experiment, gravitation, gravity, hungarian, hungary, inertia, instrument, lorand, mass, physical, physics, principle, relativity, research, scale, single, torsion
