How is the attraction of a small mass to a bigger mass

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The discussion centers on the nature of gravitational attraction between masses at the particle level. Participants explore whether the principles governing gravity at the macroscopic level differ when examined at the particle level. It is established that gravitational force is described by Newton's law, with the interaction between masses being a result of mutual attraction as per Newton's third law. However, the conversation reveals a lack of consensus on the fundamental nature of gravity and whether forces are "built" from material. Ultimately, the discussion underscores the complexity of understanding gravitational interactions and the limitations of current scientific explanations.
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explained by the particle level ?
Thanks in advance
 
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netqwe said:
explained by the particle level ?
Thanks in advance

Why do you think this would be any different at the "particle level"? It would help if you elaborate a bit more on the impetus of your question.

Zz.
 
The intention was not an explanation based on
the attraction and repulsion terms but how it
translated to the particle level
 
Last edited:
netqwe said:
The intention was not an explanation based on
the attraction and repulsion terms but how it
translated to the particle level

But that was my question. Why do you think such a thing would be different at the particle level than what we already know at the macroscopic level? Presumably, you already know this at the macroscopic level. So what made you ask this for the "particle level" that caused you to think that it might be different?

Zz.
 
I put the question another way and gradually:
What makes the attraction of a small mass by a big mass ?
 
netqwe said:
I put the question another way and gradually:
What makes the attraction of a small mass by a big mass ?

Gravity, if we are only considering gravitational interaction.

So why is asking you why you came up with this question like pulling teeth?

Zz.
 
OK , what is gravity or what gravity does to the masses ?
 
netqwe said:
I put the question another way and gradually:
What makes the attraction of a small mass by a big mass ?

They are mutually attracted - by Newton's third law, the small mass exerts a force on the large mass that is equal and opposite to the force the large mass exerts on the small one. Now look at Newton's second law ##F=ma## and ask yourself how the acceleration of the large mass will compare with the acceleration of the small mass, given that the magnitude of the force is the same. (It's a good exercise to actually work through the numbers for an extreme case, such as the gravitational force between the Earth and a falling person - the person has a mass of maybe 100 kilograms, the Earth has a mass of maybe ##6\times{10}^24## kilograms - how much does each move?).

The gravitational force between two masses is just the sum of the gravitational force between every single pair of particles in the two masses. However, there are something like ##10^{80}## particle pairs involved in the interaction between between the Earth and a falling person so it is completely impractical to actually carry out such a computation. Fortunately, it can be proven that the result of this calculation will always be the same as what we get if we assume that all the mass of both objects is concentrated in a single point at the center of mass; this allows us to just do one ##F=Gm_1m_2/r^2## caculation to find the force on each mass.
 
netqwe said:
OK , what is gravity or what gravity does to the masses ?

Gravity is the force described by Newton's law of gravity: ##F=Gm_1m_2/r^2##.

As for why that force exists... We don't know. Science is about describing how the universe we live in works, and it's not so good at explaining why we live in a universe that works that way instead of some other way.
 
  • #10
What material gravitational force built from ?
 
  • #11
netqwe said:
What material gravitational force built from ?

Please spend some time browsing the forum. Even in this General Physics forum itself, there is already another thread title "what is gravity?" This topic has been addressed numerous times.

Zz.
 
  • #12
I moved on search results for query: 'what is gravity' but didn't found an answer to :
What material gravitational force built from ?
 
  • #13
netqwe said:
I moved on search results for query: 'what is gravity' but didn't found an answer to :
What material gravitational force built from ?

Why would you think that a force, any force, is "built" from some sort of "material"?

Zz.
 
  • #14
So how you expect the interaction between the masses will be performed ?
 
  • #15
netqwe said:
So how you expect the interaction between the masses will be performed ?

Good question to ask Al Einstein. He only required that a mass causes space-time "distortions" nothing else.

Again, please browse threads in the Relativity forum.

Zz.
 
  • #16
netqwe said:
I moved on search results for query: 'what is gravity' but didn't found an answer to :
What material gravitational force built from ?

None of the fundamental forces are 'built' from anything. They simply describe how particles interact with each other.
 
  • #17
Drakkith said:
None of the fundamental forces are 'built' from anything. They simply describe how particles interact with each other.

In other words for now the science far from explaining the nature forces .
 
  • #18
netqwe said:
In other words for now the science far from explaining the nature forces .

No, science does exactly that. It tells us the rules that the fundamental forces work by, when they apply, etc. It also tells us that they aren't made up of anything. That is your assumption.
 
  • #19
Drakkith said:
No, science does exactly that. It tells us the rules that the fundamental forces work by, when they apply, etc. It also tells us that they aren't made up of anything. That is your assumption.

But you can't describe something without explaining its structure .
Whether it will be a ' space time ' sheet or a spot body the interaction
between it and other body should be base on attraction force ,
otherwise the bodies will not cling together .
The answer for the question 'Which particles the force built form' is still open .
 
  • #20
netqwe said:
But you can't describe something without explaining its structure .

You can if no structure exists.
 
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