Law of Gravity & Stars in Galaxy

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a project focused on the law of gravity as it applies to stars orbiting within galaxies and the effects of galactic gravity on celestial bodies. Participants explore various aspects of gravity, including its historical context, theoretical underpinnings, and implications for stellar and galactic dynamics.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest conducting a case study on the gravity of stars and its effects throughout their life cycle, from birth to death.
  • There are requests for clarification on the project scope, including historical context, mechanisms of gravity, and its role in orbital dynamics.
  • One participant emphasizes that gravity causes objects to revolve around their common center of mass rather than one object simply orbiting another.
  • Another participant notes that proving concepts in physics is complex, suggesting that observations support the current understanding of gravity rather than providing definitive proof.
  • There is mention of the relationship between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, with some participants debating the necessity of a quantum theory of gravity.
  • Suggestions are made to compare Newton's and Einstein's conceptions of gravity as part of the project.
  • One participant proposes including the peculiar rotation of spiral arms in galaxies as a topic of interest for the project.
  • Another participant encourages a focus on stellar evolution and the significance of Newton's laws in the context of gravity.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of ideas and suggestions, but there is no consensus on specific project details or the interpretation of gravity's implications. Disagreements arise regarding the interpretation of gravitational effects and the relationship between different theories of gravity.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of gravity and its theoretical foundations, noting that some aspects remain unresolved or are dependent on specific definitions and contexts. The discussion reflects varying levels of understanding and interpretation of gravitational concepts.

Who May Find This Useful

Students and educators interested in the concepts of gravity, stellar dynamics, and the historical development of gravitational theories may find this discussion beneficial.

Dark Universe
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Now my teacher told me that i and a few classmates that we have to make a project about the law of gravity aplying to the stars orbiting the galaxy and how it affects the celectial bodies within the galaxy... Also The Galaxy's Gravity affecting the stars...
Can someone give me a few ideas...
If someone can help would be most gratefulThanks.
Dark Universe..:smile:
 
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i suggest you to do a casestudy of the gravity of stars & its effects on surroundings all through its life ( i.e from birth to death of the star ) .
 
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nivs said:
i suggest you to do a casestudy of the gravity of stars & its effects on surroundings all through its life ( i.e from birth to death of the star ) .

Thanks for the advice...
But i need ideas. I can study on my own, alright,
But if i'd wanted to do so i wouldn't ask for help on PF...
 
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nivs said:
i suggest you to do a casestudy of the gravity of stars & its effects on surroundings all through its life ( i.e from birth to death of the star ) .

And what about the galaxy's gravity? that's also included...
 
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Could you be a little more specific with what the project is about?
 
Drakkith said:
Could you be a little more specific with what the project is about?

In general about the law of gravity...
-who invented it at first (that i know)
-How it works...
-how it causes objects to orbit around other objects of more mass...
-a few equations to prove it...
-How the gravity holds in one piece the galaxy...
-How it influenced matter to clump together and form the galaxy itself... etc, etc...
 
Dark Universe said:
-who invented it at first (that i know)

Pretty sure you do! :biggrin:

-How it works...

Pretty sure no one does. Not yet. The cause of gravitation is a mystery hoped to be explained by the graviton.

-how it causes objects to orbit around other objects of more mass...

To be precise, this doesn't happen. What actually happens is both the objects revolve about their common center of mass. To start, look up binary stars. Observations and details of these stars will be a good idea for your project.

-How the gravity holds in one piece the galaxy...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_Center
 
Dark Universe said:
-a few equations to prove it...

You can't really prove anything in physics. All you can do is fail very badly to disprove something. Almost all (edit: all, sorry) observations haven't gone against the current understanding of Gravity, General Relativity. (Note that some observations clearly go against one of GR and QM, as combining them results in utter mathematical nonsense, let alone observational nonsense.) So it's some observations that have "proven" it.

-How it influenced matter to clump together and form the galaxy itself...

Well, it's an attractive force. Lots of stuff in close proximity with each other will get attracted to each other and basically ... yea.

Sorry if this sounds rude, that is not my intention.
 
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Whovian said:
Almost all observations haven't gone against the current understanding of Gravity, General Relativity, and those that do just have to do with Quantum Mechanics, which basically gives nonsense when combined with General Relativity.

This is a bit off topic, but this is just wrong. We have NO observations where a quantum theory of gravity is necessary for a correct description, and ALL observations we have made are in agreement with GR. Now, the ones which are quantum in character simply are dominated by nongravitational effects such that the correction from including GR is much much smaller than the measured errors. Nevertheless, there is still no disagreement.
 
  • #10
You ought to compare and contrasts Newton's conception of gravity with Einstein's.
 
  • #11
Dark Universe said:
In general about the law of gravity...
-who invented it at first (that i know)
-How it works...
-how it causes objects to orbit around other objects of more mass...
-a few equations to prove it...
-How the gravity holds in one piece the galaxy...
-How it influenced matter to clump together and form the galaxy itself... etc, etc...

You should be able to explain most of this using the rules for classical Newtonian gravity. However if you want to be more accurate then you would need to delve into General Relativity which is MUCH more complicated. Pretty much everything you need to know about gravity can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation (Or on the other pages linked to from this article)

As for ideas, it seems like you already have the idea you need, you just need to write it out and explain all the above. (Which is your job, not ours. We cannot do your work for you.)
 
  • #12
Drakkith said:
(Which is your job, not ours. We cannot do your work for you.)

True Story Bro...:-p:approve:
 
  • #13
For the galaxies - you would be a star if you included the strange way the spiral arms rotate. Find out why scientists have been puzzled by galaxy rotation and orbital speed of distant (from the center) objects compared to more central objects.
 
  • #14
Dark Universe said:
Now my teacher told me that i and a few classmates that we have to make a project about the law of gravity aplying to the stars orbiting the galaxy and how it affects the celectial bodies within the galaxy... Also The Galaxy's Gravity affecting the stars...
Can someone give me a few ideas...
If someone can help would be most gratefulThanks.
Dark Universe..:smile:

I suggest you to do a bit on stellar evolution.Often people find it fascinating , you can be extensive about it as much as you wish to. Try to understand the process rather than just making a slide or two on it.
Start with the Newton's law of gravity(cover centripetal force,etc) , make a slide or two stating it's significance , stellar evolution , Black hole , collapse of Newton's laws for specific cases.
 

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