Do Gravitational Field Lines Change Instantly for an Accelerating Mass?

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    Gravitational Pulse
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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the behavior of gravitational field lines in relation to an accelerating mass. It establishes that, unlike electromagnetic fields governed by Maxwell's equations, gravitational field lines instantaneously adjust to reflect the new position of an accelerating mass without any propagation delay. This concept is rooted in Newton's law of gravity, which posits that gravitational forces are determined by the current positions of objects. The incompatibility of this instantaneous action with special relativity was a key factor in Einstein's development of General Relativity.

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  • Basic grasp of classical mechanics and field theory
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FallenApple
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I was looking for a qualitative explanation on how radiation occurs classically and came across this diagram.

Pulse.png


Which is for an accelerating charge.

Then I started thinking if this break can occur for the gravitational field.

Does the same thing happen for the gravitational field lines for a accelerating mass? I mean, once the mass displaces, wouldn't that cause the field lines in the vicinity to differ than those of the field lines afar? Is this possible classically?
 
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Not with classical gravitation. To make Newton's law of gravity work, you have to require that the gravitational force between two objects at any given moment is based on where they are at that moment. If you displace an object, its gravitational field lines everywhere instantaneously change to point to the new position; there's no speed of light propagation delay as with electromagnetism which is governed by Maxwell's equations.

Newton himself found this action at a distance problematic, and of course it's hopelessly incompatible with special relativity. That incompatibility was Einstein's primary motivation for developing General Relativity.
 
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Nugatory said:
Not with classical gravitation. To make Newton's law of gravity work, you have to require that the gravitational force between two objects at any given moment is based on where they are at that moment. If you displace an object, its gravitational field lines everywhere instantaneously change to point to the new position; there's no speed of light propagation delay as with electromagnetism which is governed by Maxwell's equations.

Newton himself found this action at a distance problematic, and of course it's hopelessly incompatible with special relativity. That incompatibility was Einstein's primary motivation for developing General Relativity.

Oh right that makes sense. The idea of a field came after Newton. I guess it dealt with the mysterious action at a distance problem for electric force.
 

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