Is it possible to determine if space is fixed or moving?

[heusdens]

I think that you can't do that. Measuring would imply some energy transfer, and that would be free lunch.

Edit:
Even if you measure virtual particle and with that measurment make it real, uncertainty in their energy and momentum would make it impossible to draw any results.

I see, thanks.

But what about this Hawking radiation of a black hole (caused by an infalling virtual particle while the counterpart anti-matter particle stays outside of the horizon and causi drains energy from the black hole) would that radiation have any deviation depending on how fast the black hole is moving relative to the (supposed) fixed space background?

 

[Calimero]

No. For a Schwarzschild BH temperature is T= 1/8pi*M (in units C=G=1), so obviously it does not depend from 'motion relative to background'.

I think that CMB is best reference we will ever have. Although it has no special meaning in terms of physics (it is special only for our convenience), it can tell us how is something moving (or not) relative to the ancient matter, or simply with respect to the 'bulk of the universe'.

 

[heusdens]

No. For a Schwarzschild BH temperature is T= 1/8pi*M (in units C=G=1), so obviously it does not depend from 'motion relative to background'.

I think that CMB is best reference we will ever have. Although it has no special meaning in terms of physics (it is special only for our convenience), it can tell us how is something moving (or not) relative to the ancient matter, or simply with respect to the 'bulk of the universe'.

So the CMB is in fact some 'absolute' preferred intertial reference frame, although acc. to SR such should not exist?

 

[bkelly]

I think this is beginning to hijack the original purpose of this thread. I hope you don't mind, but I will start a new thread in Special and General Relativity area.

 

[russ_watters]

So the CMB is in fact some 'absolute' preferred intertial reference frame, although acc. to SR such should not exist?

No, it is not. It is a nice, convenient reference frame that has no special significance to SR.