In this section, which can be skipped at a first reading, we show how the Christoffel symbols can be used to find differential equations that describe geodesics. A geodesic can be defined as a world-l...In this section, which can be skipped at a first reading, we show how the Christoffel symbols can be used to find differential equations that describe geodesics. A geodesic can be defined as a world-line that preserves tangency under parallel transport.
The previous chapter dealt with the rules of geometry in Schwarzschild spacetime. If we want to look at motion, we need to look beyond the metric to something called the geodesic equation.
