How does gravity pull planets, yet it lets a magnet stick to a fridge?

Question

hey, i knew why...i just thought some people might actually not know why
and i do pay attention in school, 3 A+ out of 4 classes

wow, i was kinda joking with this

Answer 1

Hi! Just wanted to say the responses your question brought were varied and interesting.

Stars to you!!!

Answer 2

I'm not a scientist, but I think gravity and magnetism are 2 different things. Just because we have a magnetic north pole and south pole, which allow us to use with compasses, I'm not sure thats caused by the gravity... I believe gravity is caused simply from the massiveness of the planet and the rotation in its orbit... not because the entire Earth is magnetized... If that was the case, we should be able to pick up a clump of dirt and use it to hold our to do lists onto the fridge
interesting question though

Answer 3

The electromagnetic force is several million times more powerful than gravity.

As proof, there is your magnet sticking to your fridge.

Also, there is the fact that you are sitting in your chair and not falling through it. The electrons on the surface of your chair repel the electrons on the surface of your posterior. Think about it. This repulsion is what makes solid objects solid, and it's strong enough to resist the gravitational attraction of the whole Earth.

However, electromagnetism has two charges, positive and negative. While like charges repel, opposites attract with equal strength. Overall they cancel out. Gravity has no opposite. With enough mass, gravity can overcome all of the other fundamental forces, despite being the weakest ounce for ounce.

Answer 4

Force of gravity is given by the mutual attraction of two bodies ( planets ) in space. The greater the mass, the greater the pull. That is gravity.
The Law of Universal Gravitation was explained by Sir Isaac Newton
Magnetism is a different thing. It is about the force of attraction of iron by a magnet

Answer 5

magnets win every time.
mag fields are like 8000 times stronger than gravity

the 2 forces are related along with fission and fusion.

Einstein was working on completing a single unifying equation that can represent all 4 forces called the M-theory.

failure after failure gravity is the odd one out because it is so weak.

although within string theory, and multiple dimensions, if we assume gravity's power is evenly spread through all the 11 hypothesized dimensions, the M theory works and gravity now joins the other 3 forces perfectly


gravities power is so small here because its majority is hiding in different dimensions that we cannot experience fully.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4183875433858020781&q=Parallel+Universes&total=1159&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5

Answer 6

Gravity is one of the weak forces and acts over long distances.
Magnetism is a strong force with very short range.
that is the reason you can pick a nail off the floor with a magnet against the force of gravity.

Answer 7

because gravity and magnetism are completely different forces. and compared to the 3 other forces gravity is very weak, so magnetism over comes the pulling force of gravity and the magnet ticks to the fridge.

Answer 8

Gravity is made by electrons and mass. it is proportional to mass...

And since the gravity only pulls at -9.8 on earth ,and the normal fridge magnets have more power than that...

Answer 9

u really need to pay more attention in school son.... the force gravity has different straights with mass and density.. but magnetic force is a lot stronger then gravity, therefore it can over come gravity's pull,
start reading more....

Answer 10

I'm not a scientist, but every object with matter has gravity, if you had nothing in the universe but a pencil and a desk, and they were close enough, the pencil would be attracted to the desk. (As the desk has more mass.)