Abstract

In this article it is shown that a new space-time metric can be derived from the hypothesis of locality, the assumption of local space isotropy, and the assumption of minimum energy stored in the gravitational field. The new coordinate space-time metric and the corresponding Christoffel symbols and Riemann, Ricci, and Einstein tensors are derived as functions of the physical rather than the coordi-nate distance, with different metric line elements defined for the physical and co-ordinate metrics. This leads to an extension of the coordinate space-time metric beyond the classical black-hole event horizon without any coordinate pathology at the Schwarzschild radius. The derived coordinate space-time metric is then used to obtain the formulas for the well-known four tests of general relativity the-ory: the perihelion advance, the gravitational redshift, the deflection of light by the Sun, and the Shapiro delay. The new formulas and the results they provide are then compared with the standard versions and it is found that excellent agreement with the most recent data and observations is obtained. Subtle differences from the standard formulas and observations are also discussed in detail. Finally, from the new metric it is also possible to derive Newton?s law of gravitation and draw several other interesting conclusions.