- #1
Antiphon
- 1,686
- 4
Frankly, I think gravity should be repulsive force on the basis of a simple energy argument which I will now make. I request anyone with insight to find the flaw in my argument. (there has to be one since I think we'd all agree that gravity is an attractive force.)
One way to compute forces is to take a differential of a field energy along some spatial displacement. The force will point in the direction that decreases the energy of the field. Simple example: two electrons near one another. If you integrate the energy of the electrostatic fields through space 1/2*epsilon*E^2 in MKS units, you'll find that there is less energy in the field if the electrons are further apart. Therefore the force they experience is repulsive.
Why is this not the case for gravity? By this reasoning, masses should repel one another.
What am I missing?
One way to compute forces is to take a differential of a field energy along some spatial displacement. The force will point in the direction that decreases the energy of the field. Simple example: two electrons near one another. If you integrate the energy of the electrostatic fields through space 1/2*epsilon*E^2 in MKS units, you'll find that there is less energy in the field if the electrons are further apart. Therefore the force they experience is repulsive.
Why is this not the case for gravity? By this reasoning, masses should repel one another.
What am I missing?