Spacetime Curvature by Mass: Gravity Impact?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the nature of spacetime curvature and its relationship with mass, specifically questioning whether different regions of spacetime could exhibit varying degrees of curvature leading to differing gravitational effects. The consensus is that spacetime curvature is governed uniformly by Einstein's equations, which apply consistently across the universe. Despite the theoretical possibility of variable curvature, extensive observations, including gravitational phenomena from small Earth objects to galactic clusters, have found no evidence supporting this notion. Current theories, including quantum mechanics and general relativity, do not suggest the existence of such regions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Einstein's General Relativity
  • Familiarity with gravitational phenomena and observational evidence
  • Basic knowledge of quantum mechanics
  • Concept of spacetime in theoretical physics
NEXT STEPS
  • Study Einstein's General Relativity and its implications on spacetime curvature
  • Research gravitational phenomena such as the Eötvös experiment and the Pound-Rebka experiment
  • Explore the relationship between quantum mechanics and general relativity
  • Investigate current theories in cosmology regarding spacetime and gravity
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for physicists, astrophysicists, and students of theoretical physics who seek to deepen their understanding of spacetime, gravity, and the implications of Einstein's theories.

jparth
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Is there an attribute of spacetime that determines the curvature that will be caused by a specific mass thus resulting to the corresponding gravity?
In other words: can there be "harder" or "softer" regions of spacetime where the same mass will bend spacetime less or more thus resulting to less or more gravity?
 
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No. Space-time curvature is governed by the Einstein equations, which are the same everywhere.
 
Can there be? Yes, there could. We haven't observed the behavior of every single region of spacetime in the entire history of the universe, so we cannot definitively say that no region of spacetime behaves that way.

Are there? We've observed gravitational phenomena from the scale of small objects on Earth (google for "Eotvos" and "Pound-Rebka") all the way up to the motion of galactic clusters and we have not found the tiniest trace of such an effect. Furthermore, our best current theories (quantum mechanics and general relativity) don't give us any reason to expect to find such a thing.

So the best answer to your question is "almost certainly not".

I do have to point out that your question is a bit like asking whether there are zebras in Antarctica. We haven't looked everywhere in Antarctica, so there might be zebras somewhere there; but we've never seen any evidence of zebras in any of the parts of Antarctica that we do know about; and current theories of biology give us no reason to think that there might be zebras in Antarctica.
 

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