Contents:Tests of Underlying Principles in Gravitational Physics and Their Theoretical RationaleFrameworks for Testing Gravitational Theories, Present Status of Theory Testing and Future ProspectsRotational Effects in General Relativity, Frame-Dragging and the Geodetic EffectExperiments and Theory of Gravitational RadiationAdvanced Technologies: Clocks, Drag-Free and Cryogenics in SpaceClassical GravityConsiderations in Spacecraft Design, Program Management and the Use of Columbus Space Station Readership: Physicists interested in relativity and astrophysicists. keywords:

Many new tests of gravity and, in particular, of Einstein's general relativity theory will be carried out in the near future: The Lense--Thirring effect and the equivalence principle will be tested in space; moreover, gravitational waves will be detected, and new atomic interferometers and clocks will be built for measurements in gravitational and inertial fields. New high-precision devices have made these experiments feasible. They will contribute to a better understanding of gravitational physics. Both experimental developments and the theoretical concepts are collected in this volume. Exhaustive reviews give an overall insight into the subject of experimental gravitation.

Since 1975, the triennial Marcel Grossmann Meetings have been organized in order to provide opportunities for discussing recent advances in gravitation, general relativity and relativisitic field theories, emphasizing mathematical foundations, physical predictions, and experimental tests.The proceedings of the Seventh Marcel Grossmann Meeting include the invited papers given at the plenary sessions, the summaries of the parallel sessions, the contributed papers presented at the parallel sessions, and the evening public lectures.The authors of these papers discuss many of the recent theoretical, observational, and experimental developments that have significant implications for the fields of physics, cosmology, and relativistic astrophysics.

The Marcel Grossmann Meetings are three-yearly forums that meet to discuss recent advances in gravitation, general relativity and relativistic field theories, emphasizing their mathematical foundations, physical predictions and experimental tests. These meetings aim to facilitate the exchange of ideas among scientists, to deepen our understanding of space-time structures, and to review the status of ongoing experiments and observations testing Einstein's theory of gravitation either from ground or space-based experiments. Since the first meeting in 1975 in Trieste, Italy, which was established by Remo Ruffini and Abdus Salam, the range of topics presented at these meetings has gradually widened to accommodate issues of major scientific interest, and attendance has grown to attract more than 900 participants from over 80 countries.This proceedings volume of the eleventh meeting in the series, held in Berlin in 2006, highlights and records the developments and applications of Einstein's theory in diverse areas ranging from fundamental field theories to particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, made possible by unprecedented technological developments in experimental and observational techniques from space, ground and underground observatories. It provides a broad sampling of the current work in the field, especially relativistic astrophysics, including many reviews by leading figures in the research community.

The Marcel Grossmann Meetings have been conceived with the aim of reviewing recent advances in gravitation and general relativity, with particular emphasis on mathematical foundations and physical predictions. The overall programme includes the broad categories of mathematical techniques, cosmology, quantum gravity, astrophysics, gravitational radiation and experimental developments.The proceedings contain invited and contributed papers.

Bringing together some of the top researchers gravitational physics, the 1990 Banff Summer Institute on Gravitation focussed on three of the most exciting areas of research in this subject today: Cosmology, Quantum Gravity and Tests of Gravitational Theory. Besides covering the most up-to-date developments, special emphasis was placed upon the interdisciplinary aspects of each of these topics. The pedagogical character of the lectures is designed to bring graduate students up to the forefront of research.