I believe it's electrical charges, as in electrons and protons. Objects are drawn to each other. This is an electromagnetic universe. See also my question on planets in Astronomy. This is how anti-gravity would be harnessed, and how flying saucers would levitate.
2006-06-26 11:02:26 · 12 answers · asked by ? 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Is electrostatic the same as electromagnetic?
2006-06-26 13:11:01 · update #1
How about saying it's the magnetism part of electromagnetism rather than the electrical part. Electric charges create magnetism. We have electrical charges and so does the earth.
As to curvature of space/time doesn't that just refer to bending of light, without much further significance?
2006-07-03 12:30:45 · update #2
Einstein explained gravity as a warp in the time-space continuum. The best explanation I've ever seen was at a museum. It's hard to explain with words, but imagine a square piece of fabric stretched taut on all 4 edges. Now, place a weight (a ball, say, to represent a planet) in the center of that fabric. It causes the fabric to stretch, and distort. And any small items (marbles, say) that get in the area near the ball will roll toward the ball.
2006-06-26 11:45:00 · answer #1 · answered by Allen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We know what gravity is. It's the force that causes objects to move closer to each other. It's not related to the charge of the objects. It's related to how much mass each object consists of.
What we can't do is detect gravity directly. You can detect electromagnetic waves, but you can't detect gravity waves. In other words, we don't have a very clear picture of gravity. We can only measure its effect indirectly by looking at how gravity has changed the motion of a moving object.
However, I like to look at gravity this way: The formula for gravitational attraction is GMm/r^2.
The 'r' is the distance between the two objects. If 'r' is big enough, gravitational force can get very weak, but IT NEVER EQUALS ZERO, no matter how far away the two objects are from each other. Every star you see in the sky tugs on you just a little bit. Everything in the universe has an affect on you. You're inescapably a part of this universe, but that's okay, because .....
The little 'm' is usually the smaller object while the big 'M' is usually the bigger object. It doesn't matter. The gravitational force depends on the product of the two masses and the force on the big object is exactly the same as the force on the small object. The small 'm' can get very small, especially if the small 'm' is you and the big 'M' is the stars you see in the sky. Your presence affects every single thing in the universe.
Everything in the universe has an affect on you and you affect everything in the universe, because ..... "It is perfectly clear, you were meant to be here ...... From the beginning.*"
Even better yet..... I think the girl sitting over in the next seat is gravitationally attracted to you.
*Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - "From the Beggining"
2006-06-26 20:24:37 · answer #2 · answered by Bob G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gravitation is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, along with electromagnetism and the weak and strong nuclear forces, which hold together the particles that make up atoms. Gravitation is by far the weakest of these forces and, as a result, is not important in the interactions of atoms and nuclear particles or even of moderate-sized objects, such as people or cars. Gravitation is important only when very large objects, such as planets, are involved. This is true for several reasons. First, the force of gravitation reaches great distances, while nuclear forces operate only over extremely short distances and decrease in strength very rapidly as distance increases. Second, gravitation is always attractive. In contrast, electromagnetic forces between particles can be repulsive or attractive depending on whether the particles both have a positive or negative electrical charge, or they have opposite electrical charges (see Electricity). These attractive and repulsive forces tend to cancel each other out, leaving only a weak net force. Gravitation has no repulsive force and, therefore, no such cancellation or weakening.
I read the entire wikipedia article under the name gravitation, not gravity, and it was weak. I also read gravity on yahoo reference encyclopedia, and that was weak. However, Encarta seemed the best one on this topic. They mention the theory of everything (teo) were strong force, weak force, electromagnetic, and gravity are somehow combined and all one force.
2006-06-26 20:13:08 · answer #3 · answered by Professor Armitage 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, if anybody knew then I am sure you would have heard their name by now like Newton and Einstein. I'll tell you what I know. The last time I checked, the hypothesis was that there is something called gravity waves. The problem is that they are supposed to be very weak. So some people say that the reason we haven't detected them yet is because they are so weak and we don't have good enough equipment...yet...to detect those waves. Others say that we haven't detected them yet because they don't exist. Also Stephen Hawking is trying to tie in the four forces of the universe with each other which are gravity, electromagnetic, weak, and the strong force.
2006-06-26 18:12:16 · answer #4 · answered by The Prince 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Electrostatic attraction and gravity are well understood by physicists to be SEPARATE forces, that each behave differently. Electrical attraction can be blocked by a conducting barrier, for instance, while gravity cannot be.
That said, the underlying mechanism that makes gravity work is not understood very well at all. There are some theories, but they get into heavy math really fast, and are hard to test.
2006-06-26 18:38:31 · answer #5 · answered by Berry K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The force of Gravity is equal to Gmm/r^2, gravity has nothing to do with electrical charges because gravity is governed by the masses of the 2 (or more) objects in question.
2006-06-26 18:42:57 · answer #6 · answered by RH 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do know that gravity is NOT electromagnetic. If it were electromagnetic, it would be extremely unstable and have changed dramatically by our technological world, particularly the electromagnetic waves we use for wireless technologies. Einstein argued that gravity is actually curvature in spacetime itself. That is being actively studied and assumed in current gravitational research. I'm afraid you're very wrong.
2006-06-26 21:03:20 · answer #7 · answered by Rachel P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one understands what gravity really is. It has to be something different from electrical forces because gravity is still there even when objects are electrically neutral. You have a great puzzle to keep pondering, though!
2006-06-26 18:19:59 · answer #8 · answered by Steve H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Gravity is not electrical charges. It is a space curvature.
2006-07-03 06:33:30 · answer #9 · answered by IT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Allen: The experiment with the sheet to explain gravity is
OK if we remember that it is trying to explain something
that is three dimensional with a two dimensional figure.
Another sheet on top of the experiment would be more accurate, but then it would cause confusion. It's an
abstract idea.
2006-06-26 19:00:48 · answer #10 · answered by Answers 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋