What Is the Opposite of Gravity: Understanding Anti-Gravity Concepts?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of anti-gravity and its relationship to gravity, exploring theoretical frameworks, potential mechanisms, and the implications of various models. Participants engage with ideas from physics, cosmology, and speculative theories, questioning the nature of gravitational forces and the possibility of opposing forces.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that anti-gravity could be understood as the absence of gravity, questioning whether gravity pulls down and if there could be a push from the opposite side.
  • Others argue there is no physical evidence for anti-gravity, noting that while something is causing the universe's expansion, it does not equate to being the opposite of gravity.
  • A participant introduces the concept of "Reverse Gravitational Force" as a theoretical framework for understanding anti-gravity.
  • There is a discussion about Newton's third law, with some asserting that anti-gravity does not arise from this law, as it pertains to forces of equal magnitude in opposite directions rather than different kinds of forces.
  • One participant posits that true anti-gravity would involve the ability to push away mass rather than attract it, although this is described as a simplistic view.
  • Another viewpoint suggests that gravity is a shielding effect caused by mass and the pressure exerted by the universe, linking it to the Hubble law and the dynamics of electric and magnetic forces.
  • There is a claim that gravity can be defined as the difference between electric and magnetic forces in the vacuum, with the dominance of one leading to either gravity or anti-gravity.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the validity of certain analogies, such as comparing the Big Bang to a white hole, and question the ability to validate such hypotheses.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a range of competing views regarding the nature of anti-gravity and its relationship to gravity. There is no consensus on the definitions or implications of these concepts, and the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of empirical evidence for anti-gravity, the dependence on various interpretations of gravitational forces, and unresolved mathematical or theoretical steps in the proposed models.

Atrius
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Good old Newton, "For every action, there is an equal, yet opposite, reaction."
Also magnetics, opposites atract, similar repulse. So let me get to the point. What is the opposite of gravity. Anti-gravity is simly the absence, isn't it, and also, if gravity pulls down, wouldn't it push from the other side?
 
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There is no physical evidence for "antigravity", although there is something speeding up the expansion of the universe, but it is not the opposite of gravity.
 
I just stated it in the theory 'Reverse Gravitational Force'!
 
Atrius said:
Good old Newton, "For every action, there is an equal, yet opposite, reaction."

With equal, opposite reaction, it is ment a force of equal magnitude but in the opposite direction! It does not have to do with different kind of forces. So "antigravity" is not something arising from this law.
 
There is no physical evidence for "antigravity", ...
Exactly like there is no evidence to water from a point of view of a fish.

And what if the Big-Bang is a white-hole?
 
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WWW said:
Exactly like there is no evidence to water from a point of view of a fish.

And what if the Big-Bang is a white-hole?
That makes no sense whatsoever.

edit (clarification): the first part is wrong and irrelevant, the second part is meaningless.
 
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And why it is "... makes no sense whatsoever" or "wrong and irrelevant" or "meaningless"?

Please give us some details.
 
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the big bang is an event, a white-hole is...?

as for the fish thing... well, the mind boggles as to how there could be anyway of validating that hypothesis.
 
the big bang is an event
from what point of view?
 
  • #10
Erm, ok, it's not an event, so in the theory of the universe in which one has a "big bang" it doesn't happen, and there is no "start" to the universe. Sorry, but to me that doesn't seem reasonable. But then I'm an ignorant pure mathematician who doesn't know what a white hole is, but I would guess it is the opposite (in your favourite sense) of a black hole. And as such will be an object and not an event. (Distinguish between, say, the formation of an object as an event and the object formed.)
 
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  • #11
Atrius said:
Good old Newton, "For every action, there is an equal, yet opposite, reaction."
Also magnetics, opposites atract, similar repulse. So let me get to the point. What is the opposite of gravity. Anti-gravity is simly the absence, isn't it, and also, if gravity pulls down, wouldn't it push from the other side?

Fair questions. Some observations...

- Gravity does not "push from the other side" because it pulls from ALL sides!

- When most people refer to "anti-gravity" they are referring to a device, technology or method to "shield" or mitigate gravity effects in one or more directions. This is not "true" antigravity. In any event, gravity "shielding" has never been shown to exist, but would be one hell of an achievement if done!

- True antigravity would have, among a myriad of other effects, the ability to push away mass as opposed to attracting it. But that is a VERY simplistic statement. For example, just because two opposing magnets push away from each other, their gravitational influence potential of attraction between them is still very much there. In the cases of opposing magnets, the magnetic repulsion is simply greater than the gravitational attraction.
 
  • #12
Gravity is attractive simply because it is a shielding effect by mass from the pressure exerted inward by continuum of space caused by the radial motion of matter in all directions outward with a speed increasing linearly with observable distance (Hubble law). Magnetism and electrostatic force are both also inverse square laws but they are attractive or repulsive because they each depend on continuous exchange of energy (not quantum exchange).

When two opposite charges are brought together, they shield each other from energy coming from the surrounding universe, and are therefore pushed together by that energy which has a momentum of p = E/c where E is energy and c is the velocity of light. On the other hand, when two similar charges are brought together, you get repulsion because they mutually exchange energy and recoil apart. There is no real possibility of anti-gravity unless you can control the Hubble expansion of the universe! (Technical and mathematical details: http://members.lycos.co.uk/nigelbryancook/)
 
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  • #13
For gravity, there is only attraction.

For static electricity (stationary charged particles), there is attraction of "opposite" and repulsion of "similarity." Coulomb's law.

For dynamic electricity (moving charged particles), there is repulsion of "opposite" electric currents and attraction of currents going in the same direction. Like magnetisms attract and opposite magnetisms repel.

When these electric and magnetic phenomena are combined for the vacuum, gravity can be defined as the difference of electric force and magnetic force of the vacuum. When electric is dominant the result is gravity. When magnetic is dominant the result is antigravity.
 
  • #14
Atrius said:
Good old Newton, "For every action, there is an equal, yet opposite, reaction."
Also magnetics, opposites atract, similar repulse. So let me get to the point. What is the opposite of gravity. Anti-gravity is simly the absence, isn't it, and also, if gravity pulls down, wouldn't it push from the other side?

If object A exerts a gravitational force on object B, I think the equal and opposite force you're looking for is the gravitational force of B on A.
 

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