From Derek Smith
Of course Mach was right. Nothing spins or does not spin, moves or does not move, without a frame of reference first being specified. It moves relative to that frame and that frame is chosen by the observer.
If the Universe is rotating there needs to be a centre of rotation (or does every point become a centre of rotation?). If so, the most distant galaxies would have phenomenal velocities, and yet they cannot exceed the velocity of light.
According to Einstein, the laws of physics change in accelerated frames of reference. A rotating body is an accelerated body (centripetal acceleration).
You report that a team at the University of Ulm in Germany proposes adapting the ring-laser gyros currently used to track rotation in aircraft and satellites to find out whether the Universe is spinning. What they will be measuring is not “rotation”, but a possible directional asymmetry in the laws of physics.
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Dhekelia, Cyprus
