Can gravitational force have influence on objects at infinitely long distances?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the influence of gravitational force on objects at infinitely long distances, referencing Newton's law of gravity, expressed as F = GMm/r², which indicates no limit on the distance (r). It also mentions the Schwarzschild metric in general relativity, which similarly imposes no restrictions on the r coordinate. While classical models suggest that gravitational influence can extend infinitely, the propagation speed of gravity, which is the speed of light, implies that any effect at such distances would take an infinitely long time to manifest, rendering it practically negligible.

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shivakumar
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Can gravitational force have influence at objects at infinitely long distance? Is gravitational force in the form quantum packets?
 
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Classical models say yes, the reach is infinite. We don't have a working theory of quantum gravity so we don't know what that says. We do expect gravity to be quantised, we just don't know how it works.
 
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shivakumar said:
Can gravitational force have influence at objects at infinitely long distance? Is gravitational force in the form quantum packets?
Newton's law of gravity is ##F = \frac{GMm}{r^2}##. There is no limit on the size of ##r##.

Likewise if you look at, for example, the Schwarzschild metric in general relativity. There is no limit to the ##r## coordinate.
 
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shivakumar said:
Can gravitational force have influence at objects at infinitely long distance?
Since gravity propagates at the speed of light, an infinitely long distance will take an infinitely long time. The original cause will be gone, long before the infinitesimal effect begins to be felt at an infinite distance.
 
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