Gravity and coordinate acceleration

In summary, coordinate acceleration can be explained by the concept of gravity as the curvature of space, as established by GR. The analogy of a ball on a trampoline can help visualize this, with a heavy sphere representing a neutron star creating a well in the fabric and pulling on it to stretch it. This results in an increase in acceleration for objects falling into the well, which is represented by (1-2GM/rc^2)^-1/2 in Schwarzschild coordinates. This also explains gravitational redshift and why the Newtonian gravity gradient equation remains unaffected. However, at the event horizon of a black hole, Schwarzschild coordinates behave badly and there have been attempts to modify them.
  • #1
stevebd1
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I'm looking to establish a simple explanation of coordinate acceleration-

Basically, as GR established, gravity is the curvature of space. If we use the ball on a trampoline analogy (which is a 2 dimensional representation of what is happening in 3 dimensions), we have a sphere creating a well in the fabric and a marble rolls down the well which is represented by Gm/r^2, the Newtonian equation for gravity. Now say the sphere is very heavy and represents a neutron star, now not only does the sphere create a well in the fabric but is pulling on the fabric causing it to stretch, so not only is the marble rolling down the sides of the well but it's also accelerating at the same rate the fabric is stretching which is represented (in Schwarzschild coordinates) by (1-2GM/rc^2)^-1/2 which gravity is multiplied by. Not only is the marbles acceleration increasing with the increase in curvature, but it's increasing due to the stretching of the fabric also. This rate of stretching also explains gravitational redshift as the wavelength is stretched as it travels out of the well. It also explains why the Newtonian gravity gradient equation, 2GM/r^3, remains unaffected by Schwarzschild coordinates as it only applies to the increase in acceleration of gravity, not the increase in acceleration due to curvature stretching.

I also understand that Schwarzschild coordinates model this phenomena well but 'behave badly' at the event horizon of a black hole where they diverge. There have been various attempts by other physicists to modify or evolve Schwarzschild metric in order to apply up to and beyond the event horizon.

If anything appears incorrect, let me know.

Steve
 
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  • #2
Is this an acceptable analogy or have I missed something?
 

1. What is gravity and how does it work?

Gravity is a fundamental force of nature that causes objects with mass to be attracted to one another. It works by creating a force between any two objects with mass, pulling them towards each other. The strength of the force depends on the masses of the objects and the distance between them.

2. What is the difference between mass and weight?

Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight is a measure of the force of gravity acting on an object. Mass is measured in kilograms, while weight is measured in newtons. On Earth, an object's weight is directly proportional to its mass due to the strength of Earth's gravitational pull, but on other planets or in space, an object's weight may differ due to variations in gravity.

3. How does gravity affect the motion of objects?

Gravity exerts a force on all objects with mass, causing them to accelerate towards each other. This acceleration is known as the acceleration due to gravity, which is 9.8 meters per second squared on Earth. Gravity also affects the trajectory of objects, causing them to follow a curved path towards the center of mass of a larger object, such as a planet or star.

4. What is coordinate acceleration?

Coordinate acceleration refers to the change in an object's velocity over time as it moves along a specific coordinate axis. It is a measure of how quickly an object's position changes along a particular direction. In the context of gravity, coordinate acceleration can be used to calculate the trajectory of a falling object or the motion of celestial bodies.

5. How does the strength of gravity change with distance?

According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the strength of gravity decreases as the distance between two objects increases. The force of gravity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two objects. This means that the farther apart two objects are, the weaker the force of gravity between them will be.

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