2007/02/01 by Alexander Unzicker, Unzicker, Alexander · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #Relativity and Gravitational Theory
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.gr-qc/0702009
openalex publication_date 2007/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
An overview of the experimental and observational status in gravitational physics is given, both for the known tests of general relativity and Newtonian gravity, but also for the increasing number of results where these theories run into problems, such as for dark matter, dark energy, and the Pioneer and flyby anomalies. It is argued that (1) scientific theories should be tested (2) current theories of gravity are poorly tested in the weak-acceleration regime (3) the measurements suggest that the anomalous phenomena have a common origin (4) it is useful to consider the present situation under a historical perspective and (5) it could well be that we still do not understand gravity. Proposals for improving the current use of scientific methods are given. `We do not know anything - this is the first. Therefore, we should be very modest - this is the second. Not to claim that we do know when we do not - this is the third. That's the kind of attitude I'd like to popularize. There is little hope for success.' (Karl Popper)