Relativistic Tidal Forces and the Possibility of Measuring Them

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Abstract
The relativistic corrections to the Newtonian tidal accelerations generated by a rotating system are studied. The possibility of testing the relativistic theory of gravitation by measuring such effects in a laboratory in orbit around the Earth is considered. A recent proposal to measure a rotation-dependent tidal acceleration as an alternative to the Stanford gyroscope experiment is critically examined and it is shown that such an experiment does not circumvent the basic difficulties associated with the gyroscope experiment.