On the Gravitational Field Produced by Light

Abstract

Expressions are obtained, in accordance with Einstein's approximate solution of the equations of general relativity valid in weak fields, for the effect of steady pencils and passing pulses of light on the line element in their neighborhood. The gravitational fields implied by these line elements are then studied by examining the velocity of test rays of light and the acceleration of test particles in such fields. Test rays moving parallel to the pencil or pulse do so with uniform unit velocity the same as that in the pencil or pulse itself. Test rays moving in other directions experience a gravitational action. A test particle placed at a point equally distant from the two ends of a pencil experiences no acceleration parallel to the pencil, but is accelerated towards the pencil by twice the amount which would be calculated from a simple application of the Newtonian theory. The result is satisfactory from the point of view of the conservation of momentum. A test particle placed at a point equally distant from the two ends of the track of a pulse experiences no net integrated acceleration parallel to the track, but experiences a net acceleration towards the track which is satisfactory from the point of view of the conservation of momentum.