Is Gravity a Force Dependent on Direction?

  • Thread starter Thread starter 15123
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Gravity
AI Thread Summary
Gravity is a fundamental force that exists between two masses and is dependent on their mass and the distance separating them. It is not reliant on directional push or pull actions, as gravity acts as an attractive force between masses. The discussion highlights that gravity is a vector force, meaning it has direction, which contradicts the notion that it is independent of direction. The role of acceleration in gravitational equations is debated, with clarification needed on its relevance. Overall, while the existence and nature of gravity are affirmed, the terminology and understanding of its directional aspects require refinement.
15123
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
I would like to know if the following statements are true:

Gravity is a force that exists regardless of pull or push. It is actually a force that depends on two masses and the distance between those two masses.

Imagine the following scenario:
You are being shot into a traveling capsule in a tunnel that has no air resistance.

It does not matter whether you are being shot forward in the capsule tunnel or sucked backwards since gravity is not a force reliant on direction
but a force between one body of mass and another body of mass.
The only factors that matter in gravity are acceleration, mass and distance.

The existence of gravity is not dependent on a push/pull action because those are directional vectors and gravity only concerns with acceleration, mass and distance as stated previously. This can be verified by looking at Sir Isaac Newton's equation of Gravitational force:

0f36df929ac9d711a8ba8c5658c3bfee.png


Gravity exists everywhere in the universe.

Thank you.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
15123 said:
I would like to know if the following statements are true:

Gravity is a force that exists regardless of pull or push. It is actually a force that depends on two masses and the distance between those two masses.

Imagine the following scenario:
You are being shot into a traveling capsule in a tunnel that has no air resistance.

It does not matter whether you are being shot forward in the capsule tunnel or sucked backwards since gravity is not a force reliant on direction
but a force between one body of mass and another body of mass.
The only factors that matter in gravity are acceleration, mass and distance.

The existence of gravity is not dependent on a push/pull action because those are directional vectors and gravity only concerns with acceleration, mass and distance as stated previously. This can be verified by looking at Sir Isaac Newton's equation of Gravitational force:

0f36df929ac9d711a8ba8c5658c3bfee.png


Gravity exists everywhere in the universe.

Thank you.

This is VERY puzzling, and I have no idea where you got some of these things.

There is a constant repetition that gravity is "not direction" and not dependent on "push/pull". I have no idea what that is, but the first is definitely wrong. BY DEFINITION, a "force" MUST have direction, it is a vector! Gravity is a force. Try finding the gravity acting on a mass due to the presence of two other masses in different locations!

Secondly, why is gravity dependent on "acceleration" in your equation? Where does acceleration comes in? All I see is that it is dependent on G, the two masses, and the distance between them. So where is this "acceleration" that you talk about? Do you even know this equation and somehow not realize that what you said contradicts the equation that you are citing?

Zz.
 
What do you mean regardless of a "push or pull"? Forces do "push and pull" on objects. I think you mean that gravity does not require physical contact.

I have no idea what you're trying to say with the rest of your post.
 
15123 said:
I would like to know if the following statements are true:

Gravity is a force that exists regardless of pull or push.
I have no idea what you mean by "regardless of pull or push"!

It is actually a force that depends on two masses and the distance between those two masses.
Yes, that is true.

Imagine the following scenario:
You are being shot into a traveling capsule in a tunnel that has no air resistance.

It does not matter whether you are being shot forward in the capsule tunnel or sucked backwards since gravity is not a force reliant on direction
The question of "shot forward" or "sucked backwards" is not relevant to the question of "gravity".

but a force between one body of mass and another body of mass.
The only factors that matter in gravity are acceleration, mass and distance.

The existence of gravity is not dependent on a push/pull action because those are directional vectors and gravity only concerns with acceleration, mass and distance as stated previously.
Yes, but that has nothing to do with "those are directional vectors". Gravitational force is also a "directional vector". (You don't need the word "directional" here, all vectors are "directional".)

This can be verified by looking at Sir Isaac Newton's equation of Gravitational force:

0f36df929ac9d711a8ba8c5658c3bfee.png


Gravity exists everywhere in the universe.

Thank you.
What in the world was your purpose in posting this? What you say is correct but can be found in any "general science" textbook, much less a physics text. Do you have a question about gravity?
 
Everything that you have said is essentially correct, but certain statements could be rewritten in a clearer way. For example, I am not sure what is meant by a "push" or "pull" force. In a sense Newtonian gravity is a "pull" force, because the force between two masses is always attractive. If you are instead remarking on the tendency of an observer orbiting in space to be unable to "feel" the gravitational force (except perhaps for a very small tidal force) then you are on your way to stumbling into Einstein's "principle of equivalence". This principle led Einstein to hypothesize that gravity is an "inertial force" that emerges from the Riemann intrinsic curvature of space-time, thus leading to general relativity, which remains the most accurate theory of gravity to this day.
 
dipole said:
What do you mean regardless of a "push or pull"? Forces do "push and pull" on objects. I think you mean that gravity does not require physical contact.

I have no idea what you're trying to say with the rest of your post.

I mean that the existence of gravity is not dependent on it being a force that pushes or pulls. It does both.
 
The equation you give can be stated in words as
"every body in the universe attracts every other body with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them."
I.e. the force is ALWAYS attractive (the square of the distance must be positive as must the two masses. Hence push/pull is irrelevant - the force is along the straight line between them and in the direction from one to the other.) I.e. with two bodies A and B, A experiences a force towards B and B experiences a force towards A.
 
15123 said:
I mean that the existence of gravity is not dependent on it being a force that pushes or pulls. It does both.

Please give an example of gravity that "pushes".
 

Similar threads

Replies
8
Views
6K
Replies
69
Views
7K
Replies
8
Views
2K
Replies
10
Views
7K
Replies
18
Views
3K
Replies
67
Views
5K
Replies
12
Views
3K
Back
Top