eprintid: 1430257 rev_number: 38 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/01/43/02/57 datestamp: 2014-05-20 18:59:45 lastmod: 2021-10-04 00:17:41 status_changed: 2017-11-23 16:49:19 type: article metadata_visibility: show item_issues_count: 0 creators_name: Boehmer, CG creators_name: Downes, RJ title: From continuum mechanics to general relativity ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C06 divisions: F59 keywords: General relativity; continuum mechanics; space-time symmetries note: This essay received a honorable mention in the 2014 essay competition of the Gravity Research Foundation. - This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: Using ideas from continuum mechanics we construct a theory of gravity. We show that this theory is equivalent to Einstein's theory of general relativity; it is also a much faster way of reaching general relativity than the conventional route. Our approach is simple and natural: we form a very general model and then apply two physical assumptions supported by experimental evidence. This easily reduces our construction to a model equivalent to general relativity. Finally, we suggest a simple way of modifying our theory to investigate nonstandard spacetime symmetries. date: 2014-10 publisher: Submitted to International Journal of Modern Physics D official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S0218271814420152 vfaculties: VMPS oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Article verified: verified_manual elements_source: Manually entered elements_id: 947417 doi: 10.1142/S0218271814420152 lyricists_name: Boehmer, Christian lyricists_name: Downes, Robert lyricists_id: CGBOH42 lyricists_id: RJDOW10 full_text_status: public publication: International Journal of Modern Physics D volume: 23 number: 12 article_number: 1442015 issn: 0218-2718 citation: Boehmer, CG; Downes, RJ; (2014) From continuum mechanics to general relativity. International Journal of Modern Physics D , 23 (12) , Article 1442015. 10.1142/S0218271814420152 <https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218271814420152>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1430257/1/1405.4728v1.pdf