How gravity can be bent if its just a messender particle.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of gravity, specifically whether it can be understood as a messenger particle (graviton) or as a manifestation of space-time deformations. Participants explore the implications of both classical and quantum theories of gravity, including the challenges of unifying these concepts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about how gravity can be bent if it is merely a messenger particle.
  • Another participant explains that in general relativity, gravity is not described by a messenger particle but rather by deformations in the space-time manifold due to energy distribution.
  • Some participants propose that gravity could either arise from space-time stretching or from the transfer of gravitons, indicating uncertainty about the true nature of gravity.
  • It is noted that while the Standard Model includes carrier particles for other forces, gravity's potential carrier particle, the graviton, remains unconfirmed.
  • One participant highlights the dual challenges of reconciling the predictive success of relativity with quantum mechanics, suggesting a need for a unified theory of quantum gravity.
  • Questions are raised about the analogy of gravitons to the ether, with some participants suggesting that the stress and strain of space could be likened to the pressure of gravitons.
  • Another participant counters that interpreting gravity as deformations in a manifold is consistent with observations, but emphasizes that it remains a theory subject to comparison with alternatives.
  • The discussion includes a suggestion to look for classical gravitational waves as a means to search for evidence of gravitons.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the nature of gravity, with no consensus reached on whether it is best understood through the lens of messenger particles or as a geometric property of space-time. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the existence and role of gravitons.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge limitations in current theories, including the lack of a well-defined quantum gravity theory and the dependence on observational evidence to validate claims about gravity.

clm321
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im very confused on how gravity can be bent if its just a messender particle.

try to tell me as simple as possible so i can understand it I am just a high school student
 
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In the classical theory of gravitation (general relativity) there is no messenger particle. Gravity is a manifestation of deformations in the space-time manifold due to distribution of energy in various forms. Gravitons are predicted to be the bosons (massless and with spin-2) that mediate a quantum theory of gravity, but we don't actually have a well-defined quantum gravity theory yet.
 


so in other word gravity could come from a strech of space and time or it could be the transfer of the graviton? we just don't know yet?
 


clm321 said:
so in other word gravity could come from a strech of space and time or it could be the transfer of the graviton? we just don't know yet?

In the Standard Model model of particle physics, all the forces have carrier particles ... for example, the photon is a carrier particle for the electromagnetic force. So in order for gravity to be described in that framework (which it currently is not), it must also have a carrier particle .. that was the predicted "graviton" that Tao-Fu mentioned. It is possible that we will eventually discover that there is no carrier particle for gravity, but in that case it would be part of some more general theory that we are not aware of yet.
 


but if we know that space is conected to gravity in how gravity is bent by large mass objece why do they think it has a messenger particle
 


clm321 said:
but if we know that space is conected to gravity in how gravity is bent by large mass objece why do they think it has a messenger particle

Nobody really knows if there is a graviton. We're stuck with two problems:

1.) The predictive success and some experimental verification of Relativity

2.) The predictive success of Quantum Mechanics... or rather, its success in 'making stuff'.

This is one of the many reasons why a unified theory of gravity (quantum gravity) needs to be developed. Your question is one of the most fundamental, if the THE fundamental problem in GR/QM right now.
 


Can we think of gravitons as the ether in the case of gravity. The stress and strain of space as the pressure of gravitons?
 


clm321 said:
but if we know that space is conected to gravity in how gravity is bent by large mass objece why do they think it has a messenger particle

We don't know anything of the sort. Interpreting gravity as deformations in a manifold is consistent with our observations so far and it has made predictions that have been verified to a degree (frame dragging, for example), however, this does not mean that it it is somehow true. It is still a theory and must be compared with and tested against other theories. Obviously, there must be correspondence with any alternative theories -- i.e. the predictions that GR gets correct must be replicated by the competing theory in whatever domain they are both valid.
 


edpell said:
Can we think of gravitons as the ether in the case of gravity. The stress and strain of space as the pressure of gravitons?

Why ether? They don't imply any rest frame. A more direct comparison would be photons appearing as elements of electromagnetic fields. If I wanted to look for gravitons I would try hard to see classical gravitational waves and then work to get the sensitivity up and see if I could see evidence of quantization.
 

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