So is gravity infinite?

[Lorkas]

I'll try to phrase this question as understandable as possible.

So will gravity work forever, or will it stop "working" because lolphysics.

[Razz]

At 11/26/10 04:41 AM, Lorkas wrote: I'll try to phrase this question as understandable as possible.

So will gravity work forever, or will it stop "working" because lolphysics.

You clearly do not understand what gravity is. At the least, invest in a dictionary. At the most, visit a libary fucking dunce.

[Lorkas]

At 11/26/10 04:45 AM, JoeMation wrote:

At 11/26/10 04:41 AM, Lorkas wrote: I'll try to phrase this question as understandable as possible.

So will gravity work forever, or will it stop "working" because lolphysics.

You clearly do not understand what gravity is. At the least, invest in a dictionary. At the most, visit a libary fucking dunce.

I feel offended

[Razz]

At 11/26/10 04:46 AM, Lorkas wrote: I feel offended

Can I feel him too? What does he feel like? :D

[Shikamarana]

Gravity comes from mass, so as long as Earth is still in tact, then gravity will "work". lol

[Lintire]

I hear that you float in space. From your description, gravity just took it up the ass on that one.

[Piil]

gravity, is a natural phenomenon in which objects with mass attract one another....
...Gravitation is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature, along with the strong force, electromagnetism and the weak force

conclusion: gravity is infinite.

[madhoe]

At 11/26/10 04:48 AM, Shikamarana wrote: Gravity comes from mass, so as long as Earth is still in tact, then gravity will "work". lol

But without gravity, earth will not be intact? Doesn't the reverse also work?

If you go like this, gravity will go forever...

Until, that is, something happens to or is caused by dark matter and dark energy.

[BlackmarketKraig]

Wait...?

Do you mean to ask if gravity warps spacetime infinitely outward, ie do massive particles produce gravity that does not dissapear entirely after a certain point as outlined by Newton in the law of universal gravitation?

[SomaGuye]

Well if the theorised Graviton does indeed have no mass then yes gravity has an infinite range. however it follows a 1/x^2 relationship, which is why it's effect s quite weak over large distances.

[TMdrummer]

Did you know that if you are waiting for something to load, you can tilt the screen sideways and gravity will make the loading bar come down faster?

[alfredy95]

WHAY YU HANG UP ON ME BIC BOI
LIEK A SAMBOOOODEEEEE

Sorry

Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon in which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the Sun, and most of the macroscopic objects in the universe. Gravitation is responsible for keeping the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun; for keeping the Moon in its orbit around the Earth; for the formation of tides; for natural convection, by which fluid flow occurs under the influence of a density gradient and gravity; for heating the interiors of forming stars and planets to very high temperatures; and for various other phenomena observed on Earth.

Gravitation is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature, along with the strong force, electromagnetism and the weak force. Modern physics describes gravitation using the general theory of relativity, in which gravitation is a consequence of the curvature of spacetime which governs the motion of inertial objects. The simpler Newton's law of universal gravitation provides an accurate approximation for most calculations.

TL:DR
YEAH BITCH, WIKI COPYPASTA

[SomaGuye]

At 11/26/10 09:13 AM, alfredy95 wrote: TL:DR
YEAH BITCH, WIKI COPYPASTA

Too bad nothing in that was actually relevant to the question.

[Prome]

Gravity is Infinite.
Stupidity too.

[alfredy95]

At 11/26/10 09:15 AM, SomaGuye wrote:

At 11/26/10 09:13 AM, alfredy95 wrote: TL:DR
YEAH BITCH, WIKI COPYPASTA

Too bad nothing in that was actually relevant to the question.

You want to take me?
You need a fucking army to take me!

"Gravity" redirects here. For other uses, see Gravity (disambiguation).
This article is about the natural phenomenon. For other uses, see Gravitation (disambiguation).
Page semi-protected
Gravitation keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun. (Not to scale)

Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon in which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the Sun, and most of the macroscopic objects in the universe. Gravitation is responsible for keeping the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun; for keeping the Moon in its orbit around the Earth; for the formation of tides; for natural convection, by which fluid flow occurs under the influence of a density gradient and gravity; for heating the interiors of forming stars and planets to very high temperatures; and for various other phenomena observed on Earth.

Gravitation is one of the four fundamental interactions of nature, along with the strong force, electromagnetism and the weak force. Modern physics describes gravitation using the general theory of relativity, in which gravitation is a consequence of the curvature of spacetime which governs the motion of inertial objects. The simpler Newton's law of universal gravitation provides an accurate approximation for most calculations.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 History of gravitational theory
o 1.1 Scientific revolution
o 1.2 Newton's theory of gravitation
o 1.3 Equivalence principle
o 1.4 General relativity
o 1.5 Gravity and quantum mechanics
* 2 Specifics
o 2.1 Earth's gravity
o 2.2 Equations for a falling body near the surface of the Earth
o 2.3 Gravity and astronomy
o 2.4 Gravitational radiation
* 3 Anomalies and discrepancies
* 4 Alternative theories
o 4.1 Historical alternative theories
o 4.2 Recent alternative theories
* 5 See also
* 6 Notes
* 7 Footnotes
* 8 References
* 9 Further reading

History of gravitational theory
Main article: History of gravitational theory
Scientific revolution

Modern work on gravitational theory began with the work of Galileo Galilei in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In his famous (though possibly apocryphal[1]) experiment dropping balls from the Tower of Pisa, and later with careful measurements of balls rolling down inclines, Galileo showed that gravitation accelerates all objects at the same rate. This was a major departure from Aristotle's belief that heavier objects accelerate faster.[2] Galileo correctly postulated air resistance as the reason that lighter objects may fall more slowly in an atmosphere. Galileo's work set the stage for the formulation of Newton's theory of gravity.
Newton's theory of gravitation
Main article: Newton's law of universal gravitation

In 1687, English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton published Principia, which hypothesizes the inverse-square law of universal gravitation. In his own words, "I deduced that the forces which keep the planets in their orbs must [be] reciprocally as the squares of their distances from the centers about which they revolve: and thereby compared the force requisite to keep the Moon in her Orb with the force of gravity at the surface of the Earth; and found them answer pretty nearly."[3]

Newton's theory enjoyed its greatest success when it was used to predict the existence of Neptune based on motions of Uranus that could not be accounted for by the actions of the other planets. Calculations by both John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier predicted the general position of the planet, and Le Verrier's calculations are what led Johann Gottfried Galle to the discovery of Neptune.

A discrepancy in Mercury's orbit pointed out flaws in Newton's theory. By the end of the 19th century, it was known that its orbit showed slight perturbations that could not be accounted for entirely under Newton's theory, but all searches for another perturbing body (such as a planet orbiting the Sun even closer than Mercury) had been fruitless. The issue was resolved in 1915 by Albert Einstein's new theory of general relativity, which accounted for the small discrepancy in Mercury's orbit.

Although Newton's theory has been superseded, most modern non-relativistic gravitational calculations are still made using Newton's theory because it is a much simpler theory to work with than general relativity, and gives sufficiently accurate results for most applications involving sufficiently small masses, speeds and energies.
Equivalence principle

The equivalence principle, explored by a succession of researchers including Galileo, Loránd Eötvös, and Einstein, expresses the idea that all objects fall in the same way. The simplest way to test the weak equivalence principle is to drop two objects of different masses or compositions in a vacuum, and see if they hit the ground at the same time. These experiments demonstrate that all objects fall at the same rate when friction (including air resistance) is negligible. More sophisticated tests use a torsion balance of a type invented by Eötvös. Satellite experiments are planned for more accurate experiments in space.[4]

Formulations of the equivalence principle include:

* The weak equivalence principle: The trajectory of a point mass in a gravitational field depends only on its initial position and velocity, and is independent of its composition.[5]
* The Einsteinian equivalence principle: The outcome of any local non-gravitational experiment in a freely falling laboratory is independent of the velocity of the laboratory and its location in spacetime.[6]
* The strong equivalence principle requiring both of the above.

The equivalence principle can be used to make physical deductions about the gravitational constant, the geometrical nature of gravity, the possibility of a fifth force, and the validity of concepts such as general relativity and Brans-Dicke theory.
General relativity
See also: Introduction to general relativity
General relativity
G_{\mu \nu} + \Lambda g_{\mu \nu}= {8\pi G\over c^4} T_{\mu \nu}
Einstein field equations
Introduction
Mathematical formulation
Resources
[show]Fundamental concepts
Special relativity
Equivalence principle
World line · Riemannian geometry
[show]Phenomena
Kepler problem · Lenses · Waves
Frame-dragging · Geodetic effect
Event horizon · Singularity
Black hole
[show]Equations
Linearized Gravity
Post-Newtonian formalism
Einstein field equations
Friedmann equations
ADM formalism
BSSN formalism
[show]Advanced theories
Kaluza-Klein
Quantum gravity
[show]Solutions
Schwarzschild
Reissner-Nordström · Gödel
Kerr · Kerr-Newman
Kasner · Taub-NUT · Milne · Robertson-Walker
pp-wave
[show]Scientists
Einstein · Minkowski · Eddington
Lemaître · Schwarzschild
Robertson · Kerr · Friedman
Chandrasekhar · Hawking
· others
v %u2022 d %u2022 e

In general relativity, the effects of gravitation are ascribed to spacetime curvature instead of a force. The starting point for general relativity is the equivalence principle, which equates free fall with inertial motion, and describes free-falling inertial objects as being accelerated relative to non-inertial observers on the ground.[7][8] In Newtonian physics, however, no such acceleration can occur unless at least one of the objects is being operated on by a force.

Einstein proposed that spacetime is curved by matter, and that free-falling objects are moving along locally straight paths in curved spacetime. These straight paths are called geodesics. Like Newton's first law of motion, Einstein's theory states that if a force is applied on an object, it would dev

[SomaGuye]

At 11/26/10 09:20 AM, alfredy95 wrote: You want to take me?
You need a fucking army to take me!

Once again not relevant. I think you'll find that when pertaining to the range of gravity it is the proerties of the theoretical graviton that are important. As we have already observed that photons have infinite range due to their 0 mass, it is also thought that the graviton must have 0 mass and therefore also infinite range, but as I stated before the strength of a gravitational field follows a 1/x^2 relationship, so is not noticeable over large distances.

[alfredy95]

At 11/26/10 09:25 AM, SomaGuye wrote:

At 11/26/10 09:20 AM, alfredy95 wrote: You want to take me?
You need a fucking army to take me!

Once again not relevant. I think you'll find that when pertaining to the range of gravity it is the proerties of the theoretical graviton that are important.

RAISIN! I mean... RACISM

Who the hell do you thinnk you are?
A physics teacher?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFmIrP62r ng

[Quicksmasher]

At 11/26/10 10:00 AM, Utilitarian wrote: Gravity has an infinite reach. What is does at small levels, therefore, is a mystery, and one of the key problems in physics today.

Why you got such stupid username you ethics freak? You annoy.

[Senmetsu]

At 11/26/10 08:20 AM, BlackmarketKraig wrote: Wait...?

Do you mean to ask if gravity warps spacetime infinitely outward, ie do massive particles produce gravity that does not dissapear entirely after a certain point as outlined by Newton in the law of universal gravitation?

Thats what I got out of it.

Like say in some crazy turn of events Earth and Mars are the only bodies left intact in the universe, but we've been blown to opposite sides of the universe... Is there some kinda pull or interaction with these bodies because of gravity or is the space between them too far? Like a limited circumference around the body of mass that's making the gravity..

[Quicksmasher]

All dose gaims on ng! :D

[Ericho]

At 11/26/10 04:41 AM, Silentkat wrote: Is this the work of a troll?

Go over to our thread about troll physics for more information on that.

[EDylan]

According to what I have been reading, this question still has a great load of various answers. Gravity is infinite on Earth, but in black holes, etc., there is no gravity. Apparently then, gravity is not infinite.

[Lorkas]

At 11/26/10 08:20 AM, BlackmarketKraig wrote: Wait...?

Do you mean to ask if gravity warps spacetime infinitely outward, ie do massive particles produce gravity that does not dissapear entirely after a certain point as outlined by Newton in the law of universal gravitation?

That's exactly what I ment.

[Comrade]

Newton has proved gravity comes from mass. All things have gravity, even on earth. A pen on your desk has gravity, so does your computer. Albeit, they're very weak. More mass = more gravity. Gravity cannot go away, it's always present unless you're in space away from planets and out of Earth's orbit. Think of it like this.

Put two weak magnets a few inches apart. They're not going to pull on each other.

Put two, large and powerful magnets the same distance. They should pull together.

(Of course, that's just an example.)

[Lorkas]

I'm glad some of you managed to somehow find out what my question was actually about (Senmetsu).

I guess most people took the question literally, like the thread I made about America fighting for freedom.

[Hoeloe]

At 11/26/10 10:00 AM, Utilitarian wrote: Gravity has an infinite reach.

It is my understanding the gravity taken as a force generated by mass does have, in theory, an infinite reach. However, I think once you take into account Gravitons, it starts getting a little more complicated and does have a limit somewhere.

[yonokowhat]

Erm I think its infintite as long as mass is infinite

And something do with the big bang and everything in a small point and its really hot and strong gravity and it fucking blows up

I think its pretty hard for scienetists to say wether anything its infinite so if your asking "is there ever a period in the universe where gravity has no effect" would be more apprioate I think"

[BlackmarketKraig]

At 11/26/10 11:57 AM, Lorkas wrote:
That's exactly what I ment.

This is an interesting question and has been on the minds of scientists since Newton. I'm no expert in mathematics or astrophysics or anything like that but, from what I understand (and I could be completely off base), according to general relativity, gravity affects the immediate vicinity around a massive particle but is not infinite. The geomitry of spacetime is determined by the massive bodies 'resting' if you will, on it. So rather than seeing it as objects projecting gravity outward infinitely like radiation, you look at it from the angle of a warping of the geometry of spacetime.

Again, this is just what my impression is.

[Lorkas]

But Kraig, that brings another question. Can the gravitational field travel "instantly"? Or does it simply travel at the speed of light?

[Lorkas]

At 11/26/10 12:17 PM, Utilitarian wrote: Gravity travels at the speed of light, according to Einstein's general theory of relativity.

That's what she said!