Is there Gravity inside the human body?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of gravity within the human body, exploring whether gravity exists inside the body and how it affects objects, such as food, that move through the digestive system. Participants engage with both theoretical and practical implications of gravity in this context.

Discussion Character

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

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that all matter, including the human body, has its own gravitational field, although the effect is minimal compared to larger masses like Earth.
  • There is a question about whether the acceleration due to gravity ('g') remains 9.8 m/s² inside the body, with some suggesting that it does, particularly when considering the fall of objects like food.
  • One participant explains that gravity is an effect of mass and that the value of 'g' varies with mass, emphasizing that the body's mass contributes to its gravitational field.
  • Another participant introduces the idea that gravity is a feature of energy, referencing Einstein's theories, suggesting a broader understanding of gravitational effects beyond just mass.
  • Concerns are raised about the mechanics of food movement in the body, questioning if forces other than gravity are at play, especially when considering scenarios like standing upside down.
  • A clarification is provided that food does not experience free fall in the esophagus due to muscular contractions, which complicates the understanding of gravity's role in digestion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the nature of gravity inside the body, with some agreeing on the presence of gravitational effects while others introduce alternative explanations or question the mechanics involved. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of how gravity interacts with bodily functions.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding assumptions about gravitational effects and the definitions of forces at play in the human body. The complexity of bodily functions and the interplay of various forces are not fully explored.

koudy
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Is there Gravity inside the human body?
 
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All matter has gravity. You have gravity just like a toothpick and the sun do. Your (and the toothpicks) gravity is very little though, so your effect on objects is extremely small compared to objects with more mass such as Earth or the sun.
 


Thanks for d reply. I've got one more doubt. Wil d value of 'g' be 9.8m/s^2 inside d body too ?
 


koudy said:
Thanks for d reply. I've got one more doubt. Wil d value of 'g' be 9.8m/s^2 inside d body too ?

Things accelerate in Earth's gravity at 9.8m/s^2 if left to fall freely. If you swallowed a peanut whole, and it emerged from your esophagus to fall into your stomach, it would indeed fall at an accelerating rate of 9.8m/s^2.

Why do you think it wouldn't?
 


THanks to who eva replied to my post :)
 


I'm just going to add a little since I'm worried you're misunderstanding DaveC.

You can think of gravity as being like an effect. Anything that has mass (anything!) has it's own 'value' of gravity - the value of 'g' is dependent on the object. The bigger the mass of the object is, the bigger the value of 'g' - and since gravity is attractive, the more other objects will be attracted to it. Like Vorbis says, if you think about a toothpick floating around in space - it will have it's own value for 'g', just a very very small one. We don't notice things like this on Earth because the value 'g' Earth has is many, many times larger.

Thus since your body has mass, it too has its own gravitational field - the only reason you don't notice is because you're so small in comparison to the Earth. Gravity is prevasive and for these purposes can be considered to 'go through' anything. Consider yourself falling through the sky. Now, before you activate your parachute(!), you already know that you'll be experiencing an acceleration of 9.8ms/2 - if gravity didn't affect all of your body at the same time, what would happen?

If the outside of your body shielded the inside from gravitational effects then it would mean that your skin would be accelerating at 9.8ms/2 whilst, rather unfortunately, your internal organs would be at 0ms/2 - thinking about this will reveal the fact that it doesn't make sense. Where would your insides go? From common experience, they need to move at the same rate as the rest of your body.
 


According to Einstein, not only mass, all physical fields (energy) have gravity feature. Means, don't search gravity inside mass. It is a feature of energy.
 


One of d replies to my question said tat d food(peanut) wud reach d stomach wid a speed of 9.8m/s2. But, it has been experimentally proved tat even if v take in food, chew it n stand upside down, d food stil moves towards d stomach n dusnt come back. Y wd tat b? Is ther ny force opposin d gravitational force assumin there's gravity inside d body?
 


koudy said:
One of d replies to my question said tat d food(peanut) wud reach d stomach wid a speed of 9.8m/s2. But, it has been experimentally proved tat even if v take in food, chew it n stand upside down, d food stil moves towards d stomach n dusnt come back. Y wd tat b? Is ther nythin apart from gravity inside d body?
It is very difficult to understand your typing. Is English not your first language?


Your esophagus is lined with muscles that push food down to the stomach. At no time will food be in freefall in your esophagus. I was simplifying a scenario where, once the food exited the esophagus into your stomach, it would fall to the bottom of your stomach. (This is not strictly true either, since your stomach tends to expand and contract as it fills and empties, meaning it won't be a big hollow bag for the peanut to fall through.)

All that aside, everywhere on the surface of the Earth, inside or outside objects, the force of gravity is felt. There are only three ways to remove this force:
1] gain enough altitude that Earth's gravity is lessened by distance
2] cancel the force with an opposing gravitational force in the opposite direction (move to the centre of the Earth or suspend an Earth-sized planet over your head).
3] go into freefall (say by plunging in a fast elevator or by orbiting Earth).
 
  • #10


Sorry for the language. I am quite used to the Internet chatting language. And thanks for your prompt reply
 

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