Is there such a thing as anti-gravity?

Question

Why can't we use it for levitation and motion? I've heard of maglev trains but that requires a track. Is it physically impossible? If so, why?

Answer 1

It has been long speculated that there exist a type of matter called "negative matter." Note this is NOT anti-matter, which behaves just like ordinary matter except it has equal and opposite charge and spin. "Negative matter" exerts repulsive gravitational force. It does not annihilate when in touch with ordinary matter, but it actually is NEVER in contact with any ordinary matter due to this repulsive or anti-gravitational force.

The concept of "negative matter" was introduced by physicist "Kip Thorne" back in the 1980's as one possible solution to Einstein's General Relativity equation that allows for time travel through a worm hole. One way to contruct such a time machine is to put together two parallel plates that will leverage the Casimir Effect and create the "negative pressure" the others have mentioned to enlarge the quantum wormholes that exist at the Planck scale, and then use large quantities of "negative matter" to keep the mouth of the wormhole open and stable.

Answer 2

Regarding Greg G's comments, believe the curvature of space-time is a function not just of the mass/energy density, but also the pressure. So a negative pressure can actually work against the curvature as a kind of anti-gravity force, if you can figure out how to create it.

One form of negative pressure is seen in a quantum mechanical phenomena called the Casimir effect, wherein two close parallel plates will attract each other. The gap excludes some virtual particle pairs relative to those seen in normal space, causing an excess (virtual) pressure on the outside which drives the plates together. The pressure in the gap is therefore negative relative to a zero baseline for empty space.

Answer 3

there is actually an odd twist with gravity in the fact that it can be a repulsive force. I'm not sure of the math behind it but it has something to do with a term that physicists call pressure. Now this isnt the pressure that we generally think of with gases and such. This is some sort of general relativity pressure that I guess has some properties that are analagous to the pressure we know. Anyhow, if this pressure is negative, the force of gravity is actually repulsive. There is some evidence by cosmology that at the earliest times in our universe, this negative pressure existed and helped to expand the universe.

Answer 4

Yes there is. Is it physically impossible? No it is not. Have we perceived of it to conceive of it? No we have not and will not till such time, if ever, we have sufficiently evolved to handle it safely.

Do we have "evidence?" No. But -- absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Know this, for any given aspect as regards polarity and which involves polarity, there is always possibility, and on occasion, probability: for every gravity, there exists antigravity.

That we have gravity proves in itself we have antigravity.

Light depends on dark to be light, see?

Where there is the peak, there is a trough.

No exception to this in the worlds of matter, energy, space, and time.

All right, more later.

Answer 5

Yes, loosely... There is a force that pulls galaxies apart from each other, this is due to the expanding universe and called dark energy.

Other then that one exception we have no idea how to go about cancelling out gravitons or even if they exist in any tangible way.

Maglev uses magnets and it not a result of us manipulating gravity.

Answer 6

No, anti-gravity does not appear to be possible, although some effects can 'simulate' antigravity. One model in particular relies on negative mass to have negative gravity. Note that antimatter, while being the opposite of matter, still has positive mass.

Answer 7

Gravity is the mutual attraction between 2 bodies.

Answer 8

yes, there is, you just need to reverse the polarity of the outer plating.