Freaky Thing About Gravity

[Lestat]

From what I understand, the biggest mystery about gravity is that it should be much more powerful than it is. String theorists believe it is leaking away into another dimension.

[evank15]

[ QUOTE ]

One theory is that there is a particle called a graviton. There are places looking for this right now LIGO in Louisiana and VIRGO in Italy are two of them.

String theory also tries to explain gravity.

Yes they do not know for sure what causes gravity, but to say they have no ideas on the subject is not exactly true

[/ QUOTE ]

The search for the quantum of gravity is one of the great projects in physics for the 21st century.

I agree that the "no ideas" comment is offside and uneducated.

Right now when it comes to gravity, we're in a similar place physicists were 110 years ago, speaking of the "ether" and such as the medium for the propogation of electromagnetism. Now we're just looking for a new "ether". That or, like EM, the quantum associated with the force, in EM the photon, in GR the graviton.

IMO, it's only a matter of time.

[evank15]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why isnt anyone talking about bending spacetime? or has that theory gotten thrown out w/o me knowing it?

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

When scientists say that spacetime is being bent by the presence of mass, it is in a way an analogy. It describes what happens, but not how. It is just a way to think of it. This analogy came from relativity.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think calling it an "analogy" is fair to the theory.

It pretty much is what happens. Yes we do not know why, but that doesn't mean we don't know what happens.

Wiki "gravitational lensing". It provides ample evidence that the bowling ball/trampoline GR effect is, in fact, a correct model.

[cambraceres]

[ QUOTE ]
Wiki "gravitational lensing". It provides ample evidence that the bowling ball/trampoline GR effect is, in fact, a correct model.

[/ QUOTE ]

It does provide ample evidence that the mathematical articulations of GR are valid, I'm not contesting that. The theory is sound for objects large and slow, but this does not mean that there is a literal concomitant to every point in the theory.

Theory is here to tell us the nature of a subject existent, but GR can not do exactly that. A non-classical theory like either relativity or QM can give only mathematical constructs that explain everything in certain terms, the "reality" behind them is something altogether different and not as easily apprehended.

There is no matress for our solar syatem to sit on, but whatever is happening acts much like a matress, get it?

Cam

[evank15]

[ QUOTE ]

There is no matress for our solar syatem to sit on, but whatever is happening acts much like a matress, get it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't worry. I get it.

As I was saying, the problem lies in discovering either what the mattress is, or what the mattress is made of.

It is my personal belief that gravity quanta will be discovered sometime this century, and I hope it's in my lifetime. Hell I'd love to be the discoverer. Automatic Nobel Prize. Greatest discovery of the 21st century.

[cambraceres]

Any ideas on how to validate it's existence

[evank15]

If there exist gravity quanta, we just need instruments sensitive enough to detect them. They will most readily be observed around neutron stars, I would think, where gravity is huge but not infinite like a black hole.

If it is more like an "ether", who knows.

[AJGibson]

I think we need to discover what mass is before we can figure out gravity i.e. someone needs to find the Higgs Boson to prove it actually exist. Then we could do with filling in the other holes in the Standard Model, and then we'll be getting somewhere.