Since it affords no sensory phenomena whatsoever, what is gravity?

Question

Many assume we feel gravity, but there is no tactile sensation; neither do we see, taste, hear, or smell it.

Answer 1

We feel gravity, but since there is usualy no change in it we are not aware of it.

When you stand your feet feel gravity power that push you to the ground, but since you are so used to it you are not aware of it.

It's the same way as after a while you won't be aware to smell if it won't change.

Try free fall, this way you actualy won't fell gravity undil you hit the ground, and then you will be aware of it, since there was a chnage in it...

Answer 2

NEWTON was the first person to study it seriously, and he came up with the law of universal gravitation:

Each particle of matter attracts every other particle with a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

The standard formula for gravity is:
Gravitational force = (G * m1 * m2) / (d2)

where G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects for which you are calculating the force, and d is the distance between the centers of gravity of the two masses.

EINSTEIN later came along and redefined gravity, so there are now two models -- Newtonian and Einsteinian. Einsteinian gravitational theory has features that allow it to predict the motion of light around very massive objects and several other interesting phenomena. According to Encyclopedia Britannica:

The general theory of relativity addresses the problem of gravity and that of nonuniform, or accelerated, motion. In one of his famous thought-experiments, Einstein showed that it is not possible to distinguish between an inertial frame of reference in a gravitational field and an accelerated frame of reference. That is, an observer in a closed space capsule who found himself pressing down on his seat could not tell whether he and the capsule were at rest in a gravitational field, or whether he and the capsule were undergoing acceleration. From this principle of equivalence, Einstein moved to a geometric interpretation of gravitation. The presence of mass or concentrated energy causes a local curvature in the space-time continuum. This curvature is such that the inertial paths of bodies are no longer straight lines but some form of curved (orbital) path, and this acceleration is what is called gravitation.
If certain assumptions and simplifications are made, Einstein's equations handle Newtonian gravity as a subset.

Answer 3

Gravity is the attraction force between any two bodies.

Newton could say nothing about the source of gravity.

Einstein explained that gravity is due to space which has been bent by the presence of mass.

New theory explain gravity with the presence of a kind of aether. With this theory you can explain attraction, but you never find F = GMm/d2 with it.

Until now Einstein gives the best explanation.

Answer 4

Correct me if Im mistaken. But i thought gravity was caused by the minute magnetic fields created by the individual molecules' electrons spinning around the nucleus. hence the more mass something has, the more molecules it would be made of, and there for have more gravity.

Answer 5

Gravity is the force that all objects possess that attracts other objects. However, this force in only noticible in large masses like planets.

And we do have one way to sense it... we know that we stay on the ground, and if we jump, we quickly return to the ground. I'd call that sensing gravity.

Answer 6

We theorize that gravity exists by observing its influence on other things (attraction of 2 objects at a distance). Also, your cochlea does sense the acceleration that gravity causes.

You can't sense radiation, and yet you can see the affects of it if you get to much.

Answer 7

The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending to draw them toward the center of the body.
The natural force of attraction between any two massive bodies, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Gravitation.

Answer 8

nobody knows what gravity "is"

but our inability to sense it directly is not a big part of the mystery

there are many phenomena that we can not sense directly

radio waves are a good example
we generate and use radio waves (and many other forms of electromagnetc radiation) that we can't sense directly

we can't directly sense high frequency sound waves but they are no more mysterious than lower frequencies that we can hear

Answer 9

Try going to space with zero gravity, or having enough g-forces exerted on you to feel as though you're much, much heavier than you really are...and then you may change your mind about feeling gravity, lol.

Answer 10

k so you know electrical charge is a charge that electrons and protons and some other particals have.Think of gravity as a mass charge that all matter has, at least that's what we do in general relativity.