Gravitational biot-savart-like force?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion highlights the structural similarity between the Coulomb force and Newtonian gravity, questioning why a magnetic force equivalent doesn't exist in gravitation. It explores the potential for a gravitational law analogous to the Biot-Savart law and notes that while such concepts have been discussed, they are valid only under specific conditions. An analogy between Maxwell's equations and Einstein's field equations is mentioned, suggesting deeper connections in theoretical physics. The conversation also references resources like a Wikipedia article on gravitomagnetism and an arXiv paper for further reading. The lack of exposure to these concepts in introductory physics courses is noted, emphasizing the need for deeper exploration in advanced studies.
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the coulomb force and the Newtonian law of gravity have the same structure:

F_C=\frac{q_1q_2}{R^2} and F_G=\frac{m_1m_2}{R^2}.

so why isn't there an equivalent to the magnetic force in gravitation? so that one could imagine a law of the same structure as the biot-savart law for gravitation. is there something like that? and when not, why? what is so different in gravitation?
 
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Such a concept has been discussed. In fact an analogy between Maxwell's equations and Einstein's field equations can be made, valid only under certain limiting conditions.

I don't know much about it, so I will leave any more in depth explanation for those more familiar with the material.

There is, however, a wiki article on the topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitomagnetism

and of course, the arXiv is great:

http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0311030
 
Thank you G01! this is exactly what i was looking for. i wonder why this wasn't told in my introduction courses in physics, and none of my fellow students knew about that. guess i had to take the General Relativity course, to get to know about^^
 
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