What causes the force of gravity?

Answer 1

It's the gravity fairies! Massive bodies have fairy dust and the gravity fairies flap their wings which bends time and space in order to try to accumulate all the dust in one place. What actually happens is the F=GmM/r^2 force we observe.

Answer 2

The force of gravity is affected by mass - i.e massive particles;
by definition these particles distort the fabric of spacetime and create distortions into which other mutually particles will be attracted. The inverse square law defines the strength of these distortions as they can operate at huge distances. this only serves to explain the effect of gravity- the cause of gravity is not well known. It may be an interaction between particles that operates outside of the present scale of observation - i.e very high energy interactions - the LHC ( Large Haldron Collider ) at cern will be able to discover if these interactions exist in an observable way by smashing proton to proton at very high energies and close to speed of light. Gravity is a weak force ie. at the sub-atomic level its effect is negligble - it may be that like a fisherman fishing with a wide net we let slip the particles - by tightening the net ( i.e higher and higher energies ) we may oneday be able to capture these particles and see how they interact with massive particles. From my perspective the force of gravity may be the last unkown in an equation which to date has not been unified.

The mass to mass interaction defined by gravity operates at the spead of light. I.e a massive object will only react in a mutually attractive way to another massive object after it has registered it presence via gravitational waves operating at the speed of light. if the sun was suddenley swallowed by a black hole we will not register its effect for 8 minutes after the event !

Answer 3

i think of that there is a Groop of people who're using Particle Accelerators to confirm The life Of The Subatomic debris hassle-free as Gravitones. they are, Theoreticaly, present day in All Atoms and one and all reasons Its very own tension Of Gravity, So super bodies Have a greater volume Of Them, And So a huge Gravitational tension, subsequently We people Have a trifling fee Of Gravitational tension, yet Moons, and massive Asteroides Have adequate To Be observed. Or some thing Like That

Answer 4

Dr H needs to tell us how the one mass knows that the other is there to attract it and also how light knows the mass is there so that is too can be attracted along its path. Light knows that the mass is there before it even reaches it and yet nothing is faster than light, wow.

We seem to be getting closer.

Energy and Mass are one and the same thing. The properties and behavior are slightly different. Gravity is the effect of the force, static or mobile, relative to one another. The trick still remains as to how it sends out its message that it is there.

If a mass is suddenly created, does it's magnetic field effect radiate outwards at the speed of light or is it instantly in effect to the end of space?

The question only seems to raise more questions than answers.

Answer 5

In that it is described as a "force" it must have an energy source of some sort in order to act as a force. The form of energy is described in the physics trilogy: E = mc2, m = E/c2, and c2 = E/m. The last describes the field of gravity as being one of a mass to energy relationship. The form of energy spoken of is that of the heat energy contained within, as within a large solar body. Were our planet to instantly lose all of its heat energy for some unknown reason, then its gravitational field would instantly vanish. http://360.yahoo.com/noddarc there is a short writing that is easy to understand entitled "Concepts Concerning Time, Gravity, and energy" that may be of interest to you.

Answer 6

Gravity is one of two common forces (the other is magnetism). 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.

G has the value of 6.67 x 10E-8 dyne * cm2/gm2. That means that if you put two 1-gram objects 1 centimeter apart from one another, they will attract each other with the force of 6.67 x 10E-8 dyne. A dyne is equal to about 0.001 gram weight, meaning that if you have a dyne of force available, it can lift 0.001 grams in Earth's gravitational field. So 6.67 x 10E-8 dyne is a miniscule force. When you deal with massive bodies like the Earth, however, which has a mass of 6E+24 kilograms (see this Question of the Day), it adds up to a rather powerful force. It is also interesting to think about the fact that every atom attracts every other atom in the universe in some small way!

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.
The question of why atoms attract one another is still not understood. The goal is to combine gravity, electromagnetism and strong and weak nuclear forces into a single unified theory.

Dr. H

Answer 7

Nobody really knows the answer though there are some theories.

Einstein thought it's the movement in all 4 dimension s(including time) where objects distort time (greater the mass, greater the distortion) a bit like a bowling ball on a rubber mat which causes a dip.

Now, people think its gravitons which are a massless particle. Very theoretical and unproven.

Answer 8

We really, honestly, don't know. We can measure it and predict it. We know its properties. But we don't know why it happens. The general relativity view that spacetime is warped in the presence of mass still has no explanation for why that is true. Nor do we know the reasons for the other fundamental forces

Answer 9

Do you want to know one of the reasons normal Law of attractionmaterial does not work for lots of people?Consider it like a diet plan. If you desire to lose weight and you work hard to lose it

Answer 10

I would like to add onto Dr. H's response....there are actually 4 fundamental forces:
Gravity
Electromagnetic (Light)
Strong
Weak