Skip to main content

Gravity isn’t a Force, So How Does it Move Objects?

Gravity isn’t a Force, So How Does it Move Objects?

black hole consuming star
Binary system illustration containing a stellar-mass black hole called IGR J17091-3624. The strong gravity of the black hole is pulling gas from a companion star. Image credit: NASA
You may have heard that gravity isn’t a force. This is true. Gravity is not a force; however, this truth leaves us with a number of questions. For example, if gravity isn’t a force (it’s not), then how is it able to accelerate objects? We’re commonly told that gravity “pulls” things towards massive objects, but how can this be, unless gravity is an attractive force?
To begin answering these question, you need to understand that “accelerate” is the proper term, not “pull.”
I know that, when teaching introductory physics (especially in elementary classes), some teachers and textbooks say things like, “Earth’s gravity pulls objects towards the center of the planet,” but such assertions aren’t technically correct. This is a bit of a problem, because it leaves people with a false understanding of how gravity works, and may result in a lot of confusion (and questions) when attempting to tackle more complicated physics concepts.
Of course, there are also a lot of individuals that teach gravity more responsibly, so this shouldn’t be take an an attack on any educators. The fact is,  misinformation happens. And the truth is, gravity does not “pull” objects; rather, gravity warps spacetime, causing objects to follow the bends that are created.
To delve into this a bit more, thanks to Albert Einstein’s Theories of Relativity, we know that energy tells spacetime how to bend. In this case, mass is generally the most important part of the equation i.e., it is an object’s mass energy that bends spacetime.
So n short, mass bends spacetime, and these bends tell energy how to move. In this respect, it is best to think of gravity as the bending of spacetime.
Just like a car travels down a road that has various twists and turns, objects travel along the path of these bends in spacetime. And since objects fall according to the various dips and bends, and since massive objects create extreme bends in spacetime, gravity is able to accelerate objects as they enter (or approach) deep gravity wells.
As an aside, we call these paths—the path that object follow through spacetime—a “geodesic.”
To better understand how gravity works, and how it is able to accelerate objects, take, for example, the Earth and the Moon. The Earth is a rather massive object. At least, it is when compared with the Moon. As such, our planet causes quite a bend in spacetime. The Moon orbits around our planet because of the warps in spacetime that are caused by the Earth’s mass.
So the Moon is just traveling along the bend—the dip, or whatever you want to call it—the downward slope that our planet makes. In this respect, the Moon does not feel any force acting upon it. It it just following a particular path.
But why don’t all the asteroids and meteorites that pass our planet fall into orbit?
Ultimately, the path that an object takes depends on a number of factors, such as velocity, trajectory, and the mass of the respective objects. This is why, every day, there are a plethora of comets and asteroids that go shooting past our planet without being captured and thrust into a particular orbit. Likewise, every day, there are a plethora of objects that are captured by Earth and are pulled down to the planet’s surface (others may orbit the planet for a time). Which will happen depends on the aforementioned factors.
If you want to know more about the relationship between gravity and the path that an object will follow, check out this source. It’s a good starting point that gets into some of the math behind the aforementioned concepts.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

sxhkd volume andbrightness config for dwm on void

xbps-install  sxhkd ------------ mkdir .config/sxhkd cd .config/sxhkd nano/vim sxhkdrc -------------------------------- XF86AudioRaiseVolume         amixer -c 1 -- sset Master 2db+ XF86AudioLowerVolume         amixer -c 1 -- sset Master 2db- XF86AudioMute         amixer -c 1 -- sset Master toggle alt + shift + Escape         pkill -USR1 -x sxhkd XF86MonBrightnessUp          xbacklight -inc 20 XF86MonBrightnessDown          xbacklight -dec 20 ------------------------------------------------------------- amixer -c card_no -- sset Interface volume run alsamixer to find card no and interface names xbps-install -S git git clone https://git.suckless.org/dwm xbps-install -S base-devel libX11-devel libXft-devel libXinerama-devel  vim config.mk # FREETYPEINC = ${X11INC}/freetype2 #comment for non-bsd make clean install   cp config.def.h config.h vim config.h xbps-install -S font-symbola #for emoji on statusbar support     void audio config xbps-i

Hidden Wiki

Welcome to The Hidden Wiki New hidden wiki url 2015 http://zqktlwi4fecvo6ri.onion Add it to bookmarks and spread it!!! Editor's picks Bored? Pick a random page from the article index and replace one of these slots with it. The Matrix - Very nice to read. How to Exit the Matrix - Learn how to Protect yourself and your rights, online and off. Verifying PGP signatures - A short and simple how-to guide. In Praise Of Hawala - Anonymous informal value transfer system. Volunteer Here are five different things that you can help us out with. Plunder other hidden service lists for links and place them here! File the SnapBBSIndex links wherever they go. Set external links to HTTPS where available, good certificate, and same content. Care to start recording onionland's history? Check out Onionland's Museum Perform Dead Services Duties. Introduction Points Ahmia.fi - Clearnet search engine for Tor Hidden Services (allows you

download office 2021 and activate

get office from here  https://tb.rg-adguard.net/public.php open powershell as admin (win+x and a ) type cmd  goto insall dir 1.         cd /d %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Office\Office16 2.           cd /d %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16 try 1 or 2 depending on installation  install volume license  for /f %x in ('dir /b ..\root\Licenses16\ProPlus2021VL_KMS*.xrm-ms') do cscript ospp.vbs /inslic:"..\root\Licenses16\%x" activate using kms cscript ospp.vbs /setprt:1688 cscript ospp.vbs /unpkey:6F7TH >nul cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:FXYTK-NJJ8C-GB6DW-3DYQT-6F7TH cscript ospp.vbs /sethst:s8.uk.to cscript ospp.vbs /act Automatic script (windefender may block it) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @echo off title Activate Microsoft Office 2021 (ALL versions) for FREE - MSGuides.com&cls&echo =====================================================================================&