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barra table a Padua

Padua is one of the oldest cities in Italy. In ancient times, Padova achieved a victory over the Spartans before it was conquered by the Romans and received the town charter. In the Middle Ages, Padua was an independent city state, like many of its neighbouring cities, but was ruled by a Podesta of the emperor. 

In 1405 the city finally fell to Venice, in 1797 to Napoleon, and finally to Austria. With one of the oldest universities in the world officially founded on 1222, Padua was always an intellectual and artistic centre, wich brought many art treasures to the city and made it a hotbed of revolutionary ideas. 

 

 

 

  SPECIAL SESSION 

 

peron

  Relativistic Metrology

 

CHAIRS

  • Roberto Peron, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Italy

 

 

 

  • Enrico Lorenzini, University of Padova, Italy.Lorenzini photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT

Among the quantities whose measurement metrology is involved in, length and time surely play an important role. Indeed, since more than a century their status and role drastically changed: Einstein major theories of special and general relativity implied a deep rethinking, which can be roughly summarized by introducing a 'new' entity, the 'spacetime' (new geometry: special relativity), which is curved and dynamic (general relativity). The consequences associated to this change are important, and still today they cannot be said to be totally unfolded. This is especially true on the experimental side: testable consequences of relativity are usually small at the scales accessible by direct (i.e., non astrophysical or cosmological) investigation. Yet considerable progress has come from several directions, and today some of these consequences are gradually entering the accessible domain, not to say everyday life: the Global Positioning System (GPS) and more in general Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), to be fully exploited, require careful consideration of at least the biggest among these tiny effects.
We are therefore assisting to what can be termed as "Relativistic metrology": the precise measurement of quantities related to spacetime dynamics and, therefore, to gravitational dynamics. Precision means knowledge of possible tiny disturbing effects, and this along the years spurred many research and many technological advances. The session will concentrate on the various basic quantities to be precisely measured, along with the related scientific and technological issues. The focus, whenever possible, will be however placed on fundamental aspects.

 

TOPICS

Among the various topics expected to be covered in this session, we can point out:

  • Measurement of time (and frequency);
  • Measurement of length;
  • Geodesy;
  • Navigation;
  • Astronomy and astrometry;
  • Fundamental Physics tests in space.

The expected range of topics and disciplines is therefore rather wide; it goes from basic measurement techniques (such as length and time) to their various applications. Abstracts are welcome on these subjects as well as on related ones.