Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 3 37D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
WriteFor a static observer, . Conservation of the photon's Killing energy therefore gives the gravitational redshift between static Schwarzschild observersFor the stated distant observer, and , soAs , the observed wavelength tends to infinity: light emitted from a static source arbitrarily near the Schwarzschild event horizon is infinitely redshifted at infinity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 ii Paper 3 37E e Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For a static observer, , soThe coordinate travel time of a radial signal depends only on the fixed endpoint radii. Successive signals emitted a coordinate-time interval apart are therefore received with the same coordinate-time separation. The gravitational redshift between static Schwarzschild observers is consequentlyFor the numerator is approximately one, whileHenceThe received signals become arbitrarily widely separated and redshifted as Alice approaches the horizon. A static observer exactly at the horizon is impossible because the proper acceleration required to remain static diverges there.