Sakurai: gravitational repulsion

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a statement in Sakurai's "Invariance Principles and Elementary Particles" regarding gravitational repulsion between protons. Participants explore whether this notion is a typo or if it has a basis in theoretical physics, particularly in relation to gravitational interactions at sub-atomic scales.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the mention of gravitational repulsion, suggesting it might be a typo.
  • Another participant references the gravitational coupling constant, indicating that the discussion may be conflating electric charge repulsion with gravitational interactions.
  • A different viewpoint introduces Hilbert's theory of gravitational repulsion, which is said to be velocity dependent and could apply to sub-atomic particles.
  • Some participants assert that the reference to gravitational repulsion is likely incorrect, suggesting it should refer to gravitational attraction instead.
  • Concerns are raised about the credibility of the referenced paper on Hilbert's theory, with one participant labeling it as non-mainstream and not peer-reviewed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no consensus among participants. Some believe the mention of gravitational repulsion is a typo, while others explore the implications of Hilbert's theory, leading to a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the validity of the original statement.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty regarding the context of the statement in Sakurai's book, and there are unresolved questions about the implications of gravitational interactions at relativistic speeds and their applicability to elementary particles.

Manojg
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Hi,

I was reading Sakurai's "Invariance Principles and Elementary particles". In first chapter, second paragraph (page 3), there is a line "The analogous dimensionless constant that characterizes the gravitational repulsion between two protons is ...".

Any body likes to comment on this, why there is gravitational repulsion or this is just a typo.

Thanks,
 
Last edited:
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I'm not sure this helps, but I found this under Gravitational Coupling Constant on wikipedia:

The proton and the electron are stable and possesses a quantity of charge of the elementary charge e. Hence the ratio α/αG measures the relative strengths of the electrostatic vs. gravitational attraction/repulsion between these elementary particles.

Looks like it is talking about the repulsion from the electric charge, not gravity. But I haven't read Sakurai's book, so I don't really know.
 
Sounds like a typo to me. Maybe if you quoted more context, we'd be able to tell better.
 
Manojg said:
Hi,
why there is gravitational repulsion or this is just a typo.

Thanks,

Hilbert describes a gravitational repulsion which is velocity dependent, IOWs, the gravitational interaction changes at relativistic (coordinate) velocities, reaching a repulsion at a critical velocity of c/ sq.rt(2)...
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0904/0904.1578v1.pdf

So this seems like a reference to an application of Hilbert gravitational repulsion to sub-atomic particles which includes their charge.

Creator
 
Creator said:
Hilbert describes a gravitational repulsion which is velocity dependent, IOWs, the gravitational interaction changes at relativistic (coordinate) velocities, reaching a repulsion at a critical velocity of c/ sq.rt(2)...[...]

So this seems like a reference to an application of Hilbert gravitational repulsion to sub-atomic particles which includes their charge.

Loinger is a kook. The paper you linked to was not published in a peer-reviewed journal. Please review PF rules https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=414380 , which state: "It is against our Posting Guidelines to discuss, in the PF forums or in blogs, new or non-mainstream theories or ideas that have not been published in professional peer-reviewed journals or are not part of current professional mainstream scientific discussion."

In any case, the repulsion would not occur in the case of two protons.
 
bcrowell said:
Sounds like a typo to me. Maybe if you quoted more context, we'd be able to tell better.

Here are more lines:

"The various classes of fundamental interactions are characterized by coupling constants that differ in many orders of magnitude. The electromagnetic coupling is characterized by the well-known dimensionless constant 1/137. The analogous dimensionless constant that characterizes the gravitational repulsion between two protons is G^{2}_{grav} M^{2}_{p}/\hbar c = 2 \times 10^{-39}, which shows that we can essentially ignore gravity in discussing elementary particle phenomena.
 
OK, this is clearly just a typo. Instead of "gravitational repulsion," it should say "gravitational attraction."
 
bcrowell said:
OK, this is clearly just a typo. Instead of "gravitational repulsion," it should say "gravitational attraction."

Thanks.
 

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