Schwarzschild and Newton potential

In summary, expressing the Schwarzschild in the Weyl form allows for the use of the Newton potential, which is equivalent to a rod of length 2M and mass M located at r=2M. However, when the length of the rod is decreased to the solution of a point mass, the solution is no longer spherically symmetric. There is no significant meaning to this, as it is just a mathematical result and cannot physically exist.
  • #1
Passionflower
1,543
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Expressing the Schwarzschild in the Weyl form allows one to use the Newton potential. The Newton potential here is, perhaps surprisingly, equivalent with a rod of length 2M and mass M. Also the rod is exactly positioned where r = 2M. Furthermore if we decrease the length of the rod to the solution of a point mass, the solution is no longer spherically symmetric.

What, if anything, do you think is the significance of all this?

Fair question: Does the Schwarzschild solution refer to a removed rod or to a removed point mass?
 
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  • #2
Passionflower said:
Expressing the Schwarzschild in the Weyl form allows one to use the Newton potential. The Newton potential here is, perhaps surprisingly, equivalent with a rod of length 2M and mass M. Also the rod is exactly positioned where r = 2M. Furthermore if we decrease the length of the rod to the solution of a point mass, the solution is no longer spherically symmetric.

What, if anything, do you think is the significance of all this?

Fair question: Does the Schwarzschild solution refer to a removed rod or to a removed point mass?

Wait a minute, what do you mean by "Weyl form" here? And then how was the above image of the Newtonian potential in this "form" given?

AB
 
  • #3
Do you have a reference I can look at ? One way of putting a Schwarzschild black hole into a Weyl vacuum is discussed in this paper, arXiv:gr-qc/0502062v1, but their [itex]\psi[/itex] ( equation 8) doesn't look like a Newtonian potential.
 
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  • #5
This is a well-known result, but no, I don't think there's any significance to it.
 
  • #6
The significance, if any is that since nothing can be physically a rod and a point at the same time that would make r=2m a physical singularity. So I would take Bill's advice and ignore it.
 
  • #7
Ignoring things that can both be interesting and educational?

Looks like this forum is going downhill.
 

FAQ: Schwarzschild and Newton potential

1. What is the Schwarzschild potential?

The Schwarzschild potential is a mathematical function that describes the gravitational potential of a spherically symmetric mass distribution, such as a planet or star. It was first derived by German physicist Karl Schwarzschild in 1916 as a solution to Einstein's field equations in general relativity.

2. How does the Schwarzschild potential differ from the Newtonian potential?

The Schwarzschild potential takes into account the effects of spacetime curvature, while the Newtonian potential is based on Newton's laws of gravity which assume a flat spacetime. This means that the Schwarzschild potential can accurately describe the gravitational effects of massive objects, such as black holes, while the Newtonian potential is only valid for weak gravitational fields.

3. What is the significance of the Schwarzschild radius?

The Schwarzschild radius is a measure of the size of the event horizon of a non-rotating black hole. It is defined as the distance from the center of the black hole at which the escape velocity equals the speed of light. This means that anything, including light, that crosses the event horizon will be unable to escape the black hole's gravitational pull.

4. Can the Schwarzschild potential be used to describe all gravitational systems?

No, the Schwarzschild potential is only applicable to spherically symmetric mass distributions. For more complex systems, such as rotating or non-symmetric objects, other potential functions, such as the Kerr potential, must be used.

5. How is the Schwarzschild potential used in astrophysics?

The Schwarzschild potential is used in astrophysics to study the behavior and dynamics of objects in the presence of massive bodies, such as planets, stars, and black holes. It is also used in the study of gravitational lensing, which is the bending of light by massive objects, and in the calculation of orbital trajectories of spacecraft.

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