How much of what kind of energy is required to warp the fabric of space to create a signifcant distortion? Does a supernova with its huge energy output, do this?
2006-10-29 14:45:46 · 2 answers · asked by primordial_primate45 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The only observable warping of space takes place near large objects. We have assigned the term "gravity" to this phenomenon.
It supersedes the conceptual mathematical phrases, "straight line" and "plane" to the reality that the shortest distance between two points is not necessarily the "straight line" we have been taught to visualize.
If we limit ourselves to the surface of a sphere, the shortest distance is easy to visualize as not a "strait line." Likewise, but harder to visualize, we are limited to the distortions in space.
It is not energy, but mass, that distorts space. When we speak of light bending near a large object, we simply mean it is traveling in as "straight" a path as it can - there is no other shorter route for it to take. At the surface of the earth, light bends toward the center in a curve equal to the arc of a circle approximately one light year in diameter - it is not a "straight line".
2006-10-29 15:54:50 · answer #1 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I cant think of any warping of the fabric of space from energy. GRAVITY on the other hand can significantly alter the shape of space. Is the pull exterted from gravity an energy?
2006-10-29 22:49:18 · answer #2 · answered by xraygil1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋