Hm..I've heard this argument a lot...Isn't gravity a law? "The laws of gravity"..?

Question

I'm an atheist, anti-Creationist, spreader of common-sense..By the way. I'm just asking, I thought gravity was law, back to physics class I guess....

Answer 1

Law is an antiquated word for theory, in terms of Gravity. And no, it's a theory now. There are actually at least two competing theories of Gravitation, based in Relativity and Quantum mechanics.

Answer 2

I'm not sure that it is a law, many consider it to be, however recent findings with our satellites are challenging our concept. This is because satellites leaving our system often exhibit contradictory behavior than would be expected.

Then also there maybe a confusion about the scale of where gravity is applied, as at very small and large scales it is different than at human scale.

Answer 3

If I understand it right, the law of gravity is the mathematical formulation that predicts the effects of gravity. (i.e. The law of gravity states that the force caused by gravity is equal to the gravitational constant times the product of the two masses divide by the square of the distance between them.)

A theory of gravity would include a qualitative explanation of that law. For example, Einstein's Theory of Relativity is a theory of gravity. It proposes that gravity is the result of curvature in space-time.

Answer 4

In general, physicists use the term gravitation.

The Law of Universal Gravitation was a mathematical postulate of Newton's.

The various theories of gravitation propose mechanisms by which mass and energy attract each other and behave (e.g. gravitons, warping of space-time, gravity waves). Although a variety of experiments are underway, the mechanisms have not been elucidated. This goes way beyond "if I drop a hammer, it falls".

Answer 5

FYI:
Gravitation is a natural phenomenon by which all objects with mass attract each other. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the agency that moves objects with weight. It is responsible for keeping the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun; for keeping the Moon in its orbit around the Earth....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity


"He strecheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."
Job 26:7 KJV

It is already written in the bible, thousands of years ago.

Answer 6

This is one of the dumbest arguments I have seen on Y!A since.....well, yesterday. I have a physics degree and I go to church (when I'm not too hung over). Atheists do not hold the patent on "common sense", so let go of your dick, sparky. What exactly does gravity have to do with atheism??? Or any sort of religion in general? You aren't floating off into space, are you? If not, then be happy and find something else to worry about. Yeesh!!!

Answer 7

I must be ignorant because I thought gravity was still technically just a theory.

My bad!

Answer 8

Usually that statement comes form evolutionist, not creationist. Gravity is a law, and no longer a theory.

Answer 9

If you're trying to equate the observation of gravity to evolution, it's not even close.

Answer 10

Remember the word ‘atheist’ is nothing but a politically correct term for one God calls a fool. “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”