"[T]he gravitational force allows us to declare that all observers—regardless of their state of motion—are on absolutely equal footing. Even those whom we would normally think of as accelerating may claim to be at rest, since they can attribute the force they feel to their being emersed in a gravitational field. In this sense gravity enforces the symmetry: it ensures the equal validity of all possible observational points of view, all possible frames of reference."

Quote Details