Gravity at atomic levels, first time post

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the nature of gravity at atomic levels, particularly in relation to the unification of the four fundamental forces of nature. Participants explore concepts such as the elasticity of space-time and the potential existence of a critical mass required to bend it, drawing analogies to physical objects on a trampoline.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that gravity is the weakest of the four natural forces and questions whether space-time is elastic and has a critical mass needed to bend it.
  • Another participant mentions that the idea of a critical limit for gravity is well-known and relates to the geometrical interpretation of gravity.
  • A different participant introduces the concept of branes or strings and suggests that gravity may differ on small scales due to extradimensionality, with ongoing experiments to investigate this.
  • One participant interprets the original question as suggesting that gravity may be "quantized," indicating a threshold below which gravity does not manifest, and references existing literature on the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants acknowledge that the idea of a critical mass for gravity is not new and that it aligns with established theories, but there is no consensus on the implications or the specifics of how gravity operates at atomic levels.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes references to concepts such as quantized gravity and extradimensional theories, but lacks detailed definitions and explanations of these terms, which may limit understanding for those unfamiliar with the topics.

Peter Pan
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I have very little training in the area of Physics, but enough to understand most of what is said on this forum. This is a first time post.

My question has to do with gravity on an atomic level. This question is for those of you familiar with trying to combine all four natural forces.

First these are a few things I understand to be true:
1 Gravity is the weakest of the 4 natural forces.
2 The current problem with the unified field theory is combining all 4 forces into one equation.
3 We can currently combine strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and electromagnetism into one equation.
4 Gravity is actually the result of a body of mass bending space-time.

My question is this…
Is space-time elastic and if so does it have a critical mass needed to bend it?

For instance if a bowling ball or a cannon ball is set on a trampoline, the trampoline will bend. But, if a grain of sand is set on a trampoline it will not bend the material. Could this example parallel real space-time? A star has enough mass to curve space-time, while and atom or a particle does not. I believe that if this is the case, that a lot of the problems due to using gravity on an atomic level would be solved.

This may not be a new idea. I have not the foggiest. Please lead me to any research already done on the subject or give me your own expertise on the subjuct.

Thank you,
Pan
 
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Hello Pan.
My comment'll be very short.
Originally posted by Peter Pan

This may not be a new idea.
Correctly. This is well known so called geometrical interpretation.
 
Gravity may differ on small scales due to branes' or strings' extradimensionality at those levels - .1 mm, for instance. Experiments are currently being carried out to determine any accelerative deviation from accustomed geometrodynamics there.
 
Welcome Pete!

If I have read you correctly, you're suggesting that the curvature of spacetime we call "gravity" may have a lower critical limit; a threshold below which it cannot happen. So spacetime would have to be curved by at least this much, or none at all, right?

If that is what you're saying, then you are correct in your suspicion that you're not the first to think that. What you've arrived at is the idea that gravity may be "quantized", which is a key component to most potential TOE's. So even though you didn't get there first, you are in very good company (and there is tremendous value in the fact that you got there on your own).

If you do a search on "quantized gravity", you can probably find a lot of info written by great minds like Hawking and Green, who have come to the same conclussion.
 

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