Sunday 13 May 2012

Einstein's field equations


The Einstein field equations are the 16 coupled hyperbolic-elliptic nonlinear partial differential equations that describe the gravitational effects produced by a given mass in general relativity. As result of the symmetry of G_(munu) and T_(munu), the actual number of equations reduces to 10, although there are an additional four differential identities (the Bianchi identities) satisfied by G_(munu), one for each coordinate.
The Einstein field equations state that
 G_(munu)=8piT_(munu),
where T_(munu) is the stress-energy tensor, and
 G_(munu)=R_(munu)-1/2g_(munu)R
is the Einstein tensor, with R_(munu) the Ricci curvature tensor and R the scalar curvature.
The opening sequence of the 2003 French film Les Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville) features the Einstein field equations.

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