I know it is not possible to create matter out of nothing.
However, suppose a mass was suddenly created out of nothing one light second (3 million km) from the earth. How long before it exerted its gravitational pull on the earth?
2007-06-27 08:46:27 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Your question is really about the propagation speed of gravity. It's still debated among scientists. The 1993 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to a team who reached this conclusion based on astronomical observations. Watch for results from the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) projects, and the work of Joseph Taylor and Russel Hulse at Princeton.
Gravitation is an extremely weak force, very hard to measure. It's hard to set up an experiment with changing gravitational fields. I wouldn't call it conclusive yet, but I think most physicists would place their bets that gravitation propagates at the speed of light.
So, to answer your question, I would place my bet on 1 second.
2007-06-27 19:19:44 · answer #1 · answered by Frank N 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It would have to be a fairly massive object (large asteroid or bigger) to exert any measurable gravitational effect on the Earth. But, that aside, it has been shown that gravity has a velocity. Newton believed that gravity's effect was instantaneous because gravity's effects appeared to him to be so. If this were the case, the Earth would immediately feel the effects of the sudden appearance of the massive object. However, gravity has a velocity and it has recently (~2003) been measured and the scientists concluded (not to anyone's real surprise) that the velocity of gravity is equal to the speed of light.
So, the effect of a sudden mass appearing one light second away would be felt on Earth about......1 second later.
2007-06-27 09:17:04 · answer #2 · answered by N E 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Gravity travels at exactly the speed of light. If the sun disappeared right now it would take 8 minutes for Earth's motion to change (the same time we would "see" the sun disappear). This is what Einstein discovered in his theory of General Relativity. Oh yeah, so the answer to your question is exactly 1 second. Also mass can be created from energy (pair creation) so your question is still a valid one.
2007-06-27 08:53:17 · answer #3 · answered by mistofolese 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The "stress" of gravity does not shuttle at any velocity, that's a container that exists everywhere in area. modifications to this container (i.e. gravity waves) shuttle on the cost of sunshine in spite of the undeniable fact that. BTW the occasion you gave of shifting an merchandise returned and forth and detecting the modifications in gravity is precisely what a gravity wave detector does. however the gadgets that they wish to discover this way are issues like merging black holes, which generate various gravity waves, theoretically.
2016-10-19 01:52:11 · answer #4 · answered by dicken 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
E = mc2, m = E/c2, and c2 = E/m; these are the equations that describe the basis of our universe. What you are interested in is the last of the three. It shows that the force of gravity is an energy/mass relationship. The energy in this instance is that of the heat energy within a mass. Were all the heat of our planet to be taken away, then our planet would have no field of gravity.
A short time ago I posted an experiment on http://youtube.com entitled "successful gravity experiment", which if you enter that title, the experiment I performed will come up. It was posted in pieces due to time limit. Be sure to read the introduction first or it won't make sense. But it does demonstrate that a field is able to be formed and collapsed. Because this force is a function of electromagnetic energy (electromagnetic energy is composed of it) the force of time (gravity) moves at the same speed.
2007-06-27 11:33:26 · answer #5 · answered by d_of_haven 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Gravity travels in the form of gravitational waves. They have yet to be actually detected, and would theoretically travel at the speed of light.
2007-06-27 09:35:25 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
The speed of gravity is between 0.8 and 1.2 times the speed of light, which would be fully consistent with the theoretical prediction of general relativity that the speed of gravity is exactly the same as the speed of light....so 1 sec
2007-06-27 08:56:02 · answer #7 · answered by Dennis R 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Gravity does not "travel" per se. What gravity does is pull on stuff. So the question is: how quick does gravity pull on stuff. And the answer is: probably pretty quickly.
2007-06-27 08:52:05 · answer #8 · answered by urrrp 6 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Gravitation propagates at lightspeed and has infinite range - as do all forces mediated by massless virtual bosons.
2007-06-27 08:54:27 · answer #9 · answered by Uncle Al 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
At the ideal conditions, 9.8 meters per second. But it get's weaker the farther away but stronger the closer you are to earth.
2007-06-27 08:49:53 · answer #10 · answered by Justin S 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋