- #1
adamq1
- 12
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In the bullet cluster, a large quantity of matter in the form of gas has been removed from two galaxies as a result of them passing through each other.
What I'm wondering is, how do we know that such gas constitutes a significant portion of the gravity a galaxy would exert?
I know that gravity has been found to be proportional to mass, but it seems to me that directly studied massive systems are also always involve a high level of order in the sytem.
So, how is it determined that a large quantity of disordered material in the form of gas exerts a gravitational force equal to the same quantity of material, but highly ordered, in suns, planetary bodies, etc?
Is the relationship between mass and gravity such that gravity must be considered a consequence of an amount of material?
I suppose if it is, the lensing effect of light would be observed as a result of intergalactic clouds of gas, so has this been observed?
In the bullet cluster, the lensing effect is essentially consistent with what you would expect to see in two ordinary galaxies that hadn't had lot's of gas removed from them, so it's concluded that there must be additional unseen material in the galaxies to account for the loss of the gas. But couldn't it be concluded that the bullet cluster is evidence that gravity is related to the level of order in material?
(EDIT: I'm not sure whether the forum rules indicate i should remove the last speculative last paragraph...)
What I'm wondering is, how do we know that such gas constitutes a significant portion of the gravity a galaxy would exert?
I know that gravity has been found to be proportional to mass, but it seems to me that directly studied massive systems are also always involve a high level of order in the sytem.
So, how is it determined that a large quantity of disordered material in the form of gas exerts a gravitational force equal to the same quantity of material, but highly ordered, in suns, planetary bodies, etc?
Is the relationship between mass and gravity such that gravity must be considered a consequence of an amount of material?
I suppose if it is, the lensing effect of light would be observed as a result of intergalactic clouds of gas, so has this been observed?
In the bullet cluster, the lensing effect is essentially consistent with what you would expect to see in two ordinary galaxies that hadn't had lot's of gas removed from them, so it's concluded that there must be additional unseen material in the galaxies to account for the loss of the gas. But couldn't it be concluded that the bullet cluster is evidence that gravity is related to the level of order in material?
(EDIT: I'm not sure whether the forum rules indicate i should remove the last speculative last paragraph...)
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