Gravity to surface and speed of stars

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the implications of gravity and time dilation on the acceleration of objects, particularly in relation to Earth's surface and the behavior of stars in spiral galaxies. It asserts that while Newton's law of gravitation (F=G(m1m2)/r²) indicates that gravitational pull increases as one approaches a mass, the effects of time dilation are negligible on Earth but become significant in cosmological contexts. The observed faster movement of stars in spiral galaxies is attributed to relativistic effects, which are accounted for by cosmologists, yet still differ from expected behaviors, indicating a complex interaction between gravity and the structure of space-time.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newton's law of gravitation
  • Basic knowledge of time dilation in relativity
  • Familiarity with cosmological concepts regarding spiral galaxies
  • Awareness of relativistic physics and its implications
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the implications of time dilation in general relativity
  • Explore the dynamics of spiral galaxies and dark matter theories
  • Study the effects of gravitational lensing on light from distant stars
  • Investigate the relationship between mass distribution and gravitational effects in astrophysics
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, physicists, and students of astrophysics who are interested in the interplay between gravity, time, and the motion of celestial bodies.

Kristiandhd
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
the law of gravity states that objects accelerate at a constant speed, but I'm wondering that if you take into consideration that time travels slower the closer you are to the surface of the earth. doesn't that imply that although it seems to us that it is constant acceleration that, it is actually accelerating at a faster rate as it falls.

maybe this would also explain why stars on the outside of a spiral galaxy seems to us to travel faster when they shouldn't be. when in reality it is that time travels faster the farther you get from matter because less space is being altered.

so it is space pushing us into the mass, and gravity depends on the amount of matter distorting space. and space is pushing from all direction creating they semi circular from of celestial bodies to try and reach its equilibrium where space isn't being affected by matter?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The constant acceleration of 9.81 m/s2 on the surface of Earth is only an approximation. Newton's law of gravitation doesn't state that the acceleration is constant, but it is actually given by:
F=G(m1m2)/r2
This equation shows that the closer you are to a mass (a planet, for example), the stronger the gravitational pull.

That's classical physics, however. The effects of time dilation that you mention would have an extremely small effect on your observed acceleration, but it's such a small effect that it's insignificant on earth. Relativistic effects such as time dilation become significant only when dealing with extremely large quantities of space, time or mass. In the case of spiral galaxies, cosmologists are aware of the need to account for this relativistic behavior, and the behavior of the galaxies still differs from what we expect.
 
Last edited:
Those stars are quicker by a factor of roughly 2-3. If you would compress all mass in the milky way to a black hole, it would have a radius of ~1 light year, but the relevant stars have a distance of >20,000 light years. This gives a factor of about 1.00005 for the relative "speed of time". Several orders of magnitude away from the observed effect. In addition, I am not sure if the sign fits at all.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
1K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
1K
  • · Replies 41 ·
2
Replies
41
Views
4K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K