Equation of motion for non-geodesic laboratory bodies

Abstract

The gravitational equation of motion of laboratory bodies made up of electrically interacting molecules, the bodies being coupled to non-geodesic laboratories, is obtained for metrical theories of gravity. Application is made to the experiment of Witteborn and Fairbank in which electrons or positrons are ‘dropped’ inside a conducting shield. We show that the inertial and gravitational weight of a body depends on the location of the supporting force, and that a laboratory body, in general, possesses an inertial or gravitational masstensor which differs from the body's energy content divided by the speed of light squared.