Is Gravity Our Ally or Our Enemy?

[ConcealedDreamer]

Hey, can I say that gravity is more good, or more bad? Despite the crazy reason about wanting to float or fly.

 

[DB]

The universe is what it is now because of gravity. Without it we probably wouldn't be here right now. The Earth is round because of gravity. The sun exists because of gravity. I think gravity is all good.

 

[Quantum_Prodegy]

The universe is what it is now because of gravity. Without it we probably wouldn't be here right now. The Earth is round because of gravity. The sun exists because of gravity. I think gravity is all good.

I'll agree...if I want non-gravity i'll go to space

 

[FulhamFan3]

Pro-I get to use my shoes

Con-when I let go of a tree branch it hurts

 

[Smurf]

It's definately not ALL good, if it really was the least it could do is slow down a tad whenever someone falls out of an Airplane, I mean, come on. If I was gravity I would be helping out in Iraq and everything. Lazy son-of-a-molecule.

 

[polyb]

GRAVITY gets me down!

GRAVITY gets the girls down!

 

[Smurf]

I stand corrected, Gravity is pure good.

 

[Pyrovus]

I'm very much in favour of gravity, owing to the fact that without it we'd all suffocate, because the Earth would be unable to hold onto an atmosphere, and then be incinerated, because there would be nothing stopping the sun from exploding.

 

[matthyaouw]

Sure, a lack of gravity would be fun, but one misdirected sneeze and bye bye solid ground.

 

[tribdog]

Gravity is detrimental to boobs.

 

[Smurf]

I love you tribdog

 

[BobG]

I'm pro-gravity.

It gives me a sense of belonging.

The force of gravity goes on forever. It diminishes in inverse proportion to the square of the distance, but it never reaches zero. Every star I see in the sky is tugging on me just a little bit, almost as if saying "We want you here." Even more, I tug on every star in the sky just a little bit. The universe knows I'm here.

Of course, there's one reason for liking gravity that's even more important than a sense of belonging.

If gravity didn't exist, everyone would have Don King hair.

 

[Phobos]

With Einstein's eyes, gravity is the same thing as spacetime. No gravity. No universe. I'll take it.

 

[ConcealedDreamer]

Hahaha...thanks guys, I now know gravity rocks.

 

[rachmaninoff]

It's okay on a cosmic scale, but I say there's too much of it in the physics department at 11:30 PM, the night before an exam.

 

[FulhamFan3]

It's not better than cable.

 

[ConcealedDreamer]

It's not better than cable.

Haha. I don't have cable, so I wouldn't know. But how does that contribute to the pro's and con's?

 

[rachmaninoff]

Without gravity, there would be no cable!

 

[Gokul43201]

With cable, who cares if there's no gravity ?

 

[rachmaninoff]

Without gravity, the Earth wouldn't exist as we know it, and there would be nothing to bury the cables in!

Also all the actors and producers would suffocate in the lack of atmosphere... unless they got oxygen tanks...

 

[Gokul43201]

Without gravity, the Earth wouldn't exist as we know it, and there would be nothing to bury the cables in!

If you can't bury it, don't bury it.

Also all the actors and producers would suffocate in the lack of atmosphere... unless they got oxygen tanks...

They got oxygen tanks.

 

[Gokul43201]

See, if I have to be floating through empty space with an oxygen tank, I'd better have some cable to watch, or I'm going to get pretty bored.

 

[ConcealedDreamer]

See, if I have to be floating through empty space with an oxygen tank, I'd better have some cable to watch, or I'm going to get pretty bored.

But without gravity, where are you going to get food? Everything will be gone. And what film would they show in Cable? All TV networks will be gone.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Well you could have satellite TV instead. Oh wait satellites use gravity. So you could have, um, wait this question is ridiculous, the first thing we need to do is figure out how to start TV networks floating around in gravity-free space. Once there are TV networks, then we can start thinking about transmission and televisions.

 

[dextercioby]

I haven't lloked to see that maybe someone else came up with my idea,but here goes:
"According to M Theory viewed as a TOE,if we didn't have gravity,we wouldn't have the other 3 interactions as well."No electromagnetism,no cable-TV,okay??

Basically all superstrings would not interact.
In 'normal QFT language',we would not have gauge bosons,but only particles which are scalar (no constraints) and fermionic (second-class constraints).Only bosons would allow interaction and fermions would interact by means of (pseudo) scalar bosons.Basically,the only field theories possible:Yukawa and lambda phi^{4}.

But most importantly:NO cable-TV.NO internet,NO Physicsforums.It's less relevant that we humans could not exist...Our atoms,nuclei could not exist...

Daniel.

 

[FulhamFan3]

I'm wondering if you guys got my joke or if your really dense. I was referring to the commercial where a guy talks about how cable is better than gravity. He does a similar commercial talking about how cable is better than puppies too.

 

[Gokul43201]

Puppies ? Haven't seen that one. Why is there even a discussion about puppies - there's no comparison. bah !

 

[Artman]

I'm wondering if you guys got my joke or if your really dense. I was referring to the commercial where a guy talks about how cable is better than gravity. He does a similar commercial talking about how cable is better than puppies too.

I got it. What's that guy doing in that office at what appears to be the middle of the night if he has such a thing for his cable? He should be home sitting in front of his TV or computer, right?

Con: Gravity forces us to come up with bizarre "theory's of everything" that require a whole bunch of weird dimensions in order for them to work.

Pro: Gravity keeps my stuff from floating away. So I don't have to waste my time retrieving everything when I want to use it.

Con: My Guitar amp weighs 41 pounds.

Pro: It stays pretty much where I put it.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Speaking of cable tv, did you know that if you stick aluminum foil onto the screen of a CRT telvision and turn it off, it accumulates a huge static voltage? Er, I thought you all should know. Because it's a safety hazard no one ever warns you about.

 

[recon]

Does the static voltage hurt just the TV or everything in the vicinity? Because I've been hearing some loud snapping noises from my CRT TV. When this happens, the TV screen usually goes dark for a moment, and then returns to normal.

 

[Gokul43201]

Pro: Gravity keeps my stuff from floating away. So I don't have to waste my time retrieving everything when I want to use it.

If you used a cable to tether all your stuff to your pinky, you won't have to go about retrieving things. Just be careful when sipping tea.

Cable Rules !

 

[Artman]

If you used a cable to tether all your stuff to your pinky, you won't have to go about retrieving things. Just be careful when sipping tea.

Cable Rules !

Hey, cable is better than gravity!

 

[gazzo]

pfft. gravity smavity.

 

[Gokul43201]

<rubbing hands together fiendishly>

Now I've only got to convince the dextrous one, the dreamer and the musician...and the world will be mine. Muwahahahaha

 

[arildno]

<rubbing hands together fiendishly>

Now I've only got to convince the dextrous one, the dreamer and the musician...and the world will be mine. Muwahahahaha

And you have convinced me as well.
I can't see that we need gravity if we have cable.
In fact, I would put it even stronger:
Gravity is an obstacle, cable is opportunity.

DOWN WITH GRAVITY!

 

[Artman]

And you have convinced me as well.
I can't see that we need gravity if we have cable.
In fact, I would put it even stronger:
Gravity is an obstacle, cable is opportunity.

DOWN WITH GRAVITY!

Is it possible to overthrow gravity?

 

[arildno]

Our foe is old and subtle.
He's wily and has achieved an almost imperceptible (but really suffocating) influence over all creation.

Overthrowing him is a daunting task, but now that we have discovered his malevolence, can we really sit back and let his oppression go on?
Isn't it nobler to perish in the attempt of overthrowing, than eking out an unpalatable existence as SLAVES OF GRAVITY?

I have thought well on this, and I think that if we really are to succeed, it is imperative to find potential ALLIES.

And here's the deal:
As any clever tyrant has realized, gravity knows he cannot rule all by himself; he NEEDS experts to carry out vital tasks in the smooth running of the universe.
In particular, he needs to use expertise he himself does not possess.

So, what does the clever tyrant do?
Among the experts he only selects those with a shy and timid personality; i.e, who can easily be cowed by his incessant bullying.

These frightened collaborators hardly ever dare to set their foot outside of the tiny cubicles they've been allotted, and they're repeatedly told that there's a dangerous, vicious world out there which is out to get them.

In particular, they are discouraged from exercising their expertise&influence outside of the immediate vicinity of their grim master.


I am pleased to announce that I have been able to identify the frightened, oppressed collaborators (slaves, really; we ought to pity them):

The nuclear forces!

We cannot hope to overthrow gravity, unless we impart some self-confidence into these poor, battered things.
They need to be assured that we won't eat them, we like them, and we would like their influence and expertise to be more appreciable.

So, the first step in our rebellion should be:
LIBERATE ALL NUCLEAR FORCES!

The fight will be tough, there will be tons of blood&tears, but do we really dare to let grim gravity retain his stranglehold upon us?

We MUST fight, let PhysicsForums be a focus of determined resistance against the evil genius of gravity!

 

[Evo]

But without gravity, my soup wouldn't stay in my bowl.

 

[arildno]

But without gravity, my soup wouldn't stay in my bowl.

Don't worry, Evo; as Gokul has shown, all you need is cable (just wrap your soup around the cable, since gravity isn't there any more, the soup will stay)

Gravity's most insidious claim is that we need him (we don't); we must remove the scales he has placed over our eyes.

 

[Gokul43201]

But without gravity, my soup wouldn't stay in my bowl.

Darn ! One more traditionalist. Don't you see you're behaving like a brainwashed being, Evo ? Free your mind. This gravity thing is just a ploy to control our minds.

Vote cable ! It will uplift and free you - things gravity can hardly dream of. Has anyone ever complained that cable television is a form of mind control ? QED.

Gravity is over-rated.

Down with gravity. Gravity sucks. No, I'll go one bold step further : Gravity is so ugly, it's repulsive.

 

[Artman]

But without gravity, my soup wouldn't stay in my bowl.

We must all make sacrifices for the greater good.

The nuclear forces!

Nuclear war seems a bit extreme at this stage in the struggle.

Perhaps we should explore diplomatic means. For instance:

Gravity is so ugly, it's repulsive.

Basically, if we can just continue to make gravity unattractive , our work will be done.

 

[Evo]

But without gravity, my soup wouldn't stay in my bowl.

We must all make sacrifices for the greater good.

I guess I could put my soup in one of those pouches.

 

[Gokul43201]

I guess I could put my soup in one of those pouches.

That, or simpler, just strap on your jetpack, set the throttle on LOW, and accelerate slowly in the direction defined by the vector originating in the center of the base of the soup bowl and terminating at the center of the rim.

 

[FulhamFan3]

I guess I could put my soup in one of those pouches.

three words.

cup lid straw

 

[ConcealedDreamer]

Without gravity, you'll float around and won't you get dizzy? If you hang on to a object with a <b> cable </b> , you'll have to tie yourself with it. It gets unconfortable. =]

 

[Artman]

Without gravity, you'll float around and won't you get dizzy? If you hang on to a object with a <b> cable </b> , you'll have to tie yourself with it. It gets unconfortable. =]

He doesn't appreciate the gravity of his statements. We have ways of turning you to the light side (as opposed to the heavy side).

Quick Gokul43201 sneak up behind him with the cable...I'll distract him...

Hey look over there ConcealedDreamer, isn't that Elvis?

 

[Gokul43201]

Sneaking up on dreamer with a near-lethal dose of cable and a pair of blinders...

 

[ConcealedDreamer]

Sneaking up on dreamer with a near-lethal dose of cable and a pair of blinders...

Haha..turns Super Saiyan 4 and rules the world!

 

[tribdog]

now that's just ridiculous.
That's enough cable for you. PBS for the rest of the week.

 

[cepheid]

^The Practically Broke Station

I wonder if he appreciates the gravity of the situation.