why does sun attract earth and other planets?????

Question

everyone knows its due to gravitation but how does gravity work???????

Answer 1

There are two theories about how gravity actually 'works':

General relativity
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As someone has already stated, general relativity involves the curvature of spacetime but to really understand it you mustn't rely on the experiment someone here described (the bed-sheet with the balls on). Remember, that experiment rely on gravity to work, so doesn't really prove anything.

Spacetime is four dimentional but, for now, lets only consider the first three dimentions that we percieve as space (up-down, left-right and forward-backward). The curvature of spacetime really means that, around massy objects, spacetime becomes less dense. For this reason, massy objects move towards each other attractively to try to equalise the imbalance of spacetime density. This is the best way I can really describe it but 'density of spacetime' is a difficult concept to understand (not least because density traditionally involves the measurement of an amount of 'something' with respect to volume - and I am saying that the dimentions in which this volume is measured can have a different density!) Now it becomes more complicated when we try to introduce the similar quantum-field theory version:

Gravitons
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There are a number of quantum-field theories about gravity (the Higg's field, gravitational loop fields etc) but the one I will concentrate on here is the simplest to understand conceptually: the gravitons.

Consider an electron in free-space. How do you know it's there? You can detect a charge? That charge is detected because the electron exchanges virtual photons with every other electron (and electrically charged particle in the universe). The difference between positive and negative charge is held in wavefunction of the virtual photons and whether they are exchanged in phase or out-of-phase. Anyway, these photons travel at the speed of light.

Now, you might tell me you could detect that electron by the gravitational effect. Whilst this effect is much smaller than the electrical effect, it still exists. The gravitational field is emitted similarly to the electric field in that fundimental virtual exchange particles exist called gravitons. These are bosons that are exchanged at the speed of light between every object with mass in the universe (Yukawa's theorem).

How does this relate to relativity (forgive the pun)? Well, the graviton density can be mapped into the spacetime density exactly. The only issue here is that the gravitons would, therefore, define the dimentions of spacetime. This causes a problem because they could not themselves exist in spacetime if they were the entities that defined it.

... and this is where string theory steps in to explain how this is possible with superdimentional space.

I won't go into string theory because it is a maze of errors at the moment but, needless to say, the reason that gravity works is that each 'particle' is simply the most likely point on a wavefunction containing information about virtual photons, gravitons and other fundimental bosons I haven't gone into. In this way, gravitational mass and inertial mass can both be explained by the same force exchange particle (the graviton) and are equal.

... and it also means that particles are conceptually simply points in space where the wavefunctions for the different bosons coincide. Now that will take you a while to understand and, if you do understand it, try to explain how gluons fit into this (virtual bosons who, themselves, exchange virtual bosons!). If you can explain why gluons exchange gluons but photons and gravitons don't exchange photons and gravitons respectively, there is a nobel prize waiting for you!

How does gravity work? Very well, thank you.

Answer 2

The other two answers are correct to a certain point...gravity also has to do with centrifugal force. The Earth spins on an axis as does the galaxy, etc.

In the case of the two aircraft carriers, as described by someone else, the reason they would have a gravitational attraction is the fact the planet is spinning. Since both ships experience this spinning in a relative manner, they don't feel its effects. BUT they have a pull towards one another anyway.

Its the same for the sun and all of the planets, etc. If the galaxy and solar system were to stop spinning, all of the planets (including Earth) would fly off into space.

I'm no expert, but think about the fact that you are currently on this planet only because it is spinning; If it were to stop, you would be thrown off it just from the momentum.

Answer 3

With gravitation, Newton stated that all corpus attracts other wit gravitation forces. The greater the mass, the stronger the attraction. So sun which is the heaviest attract the planets

Answer 4

sun attract earth and other planets because all those planets are formed from sun itself and fall in the solar system
actually every object in the universe have gravity by which it attract other object
according to the law of gravitation, the larger the body, the larger is the gravitationary force.so sun has tremendous gravitational force.
all the planet fall in solar system comes in range of sun gravity so sun attract all those planets

Answer 5

you see there's this stuff call gravity...it's between any two objects. it's dependent on the distance between the two objects and the masses of the two object. there's a gravitional force between you and i but we don't feel it because 1) we're so far apart 2) the earth's mass is so big compared to you or i that we feel the gravity between ourselves and the earth more.

Answer 6

The best analogy I know to 'splain it is that gravity "bends" the space around it. Put a cue ball in a bed sheet held at the funky four corners by friends. Then drop in a marble and it will go right to the cue ball. Best I can do or anyone for that matter. Good luck. Did you know that large ships like Aircraft Carrier have to keep their distance so gravity does not effect them?

Answer 7

No. The solar isn't increasing yet. In about 5 billion years it is going to attain its pink significant degree in spite of the undeniable fact that and could commence to advance immediately then yet its mass received't have replaced critically so gravity by myself received't pull the planets in the route of the solar. what's going to is a mixture of drag and gravity. Drag from the solar's surroundings will reason the planets to decelerate and orbit ever closer a twin of a returning spacecraft enters the Earth's surroundings to decelerate. they're going to proceed spiralling in in the route of the centre of the solar actual orbiting interior the solar's outer surroundings till they're vapourised.

Answer 8

I have heard about some very minute particles called 'GRAVTONS' which are spreaded over all the matter of the universe. It is some property of these gravitons due to which they attract things on which other gravitons are lying. However, I m not sure about the reliability of the answer.

Answer 9

according to the law of gravitation, the larger the body, the larger is the gravitationary force.
so sun has tremendous gravitational force.
this force attracts these planets.
for working of gravitational force, see http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/GravitationalForce.html

Answer 10

Because of it's mass and the way it's mass bends the space around it. (At least that's the theory.)