Origin of Gravity

Originally posted by Palynka
The universe just is. One can understand how it functions, but not why it functions exactly like it does. If/When we improve our understanding of gravity, the 'why' will either remain or be transposed into 'why' the 'how' that explains the weakness of gravity is as it is.

Originally posted by Andrew Hamilton
[b]….One can understand how it functions, but not WHY it functions exactly like it does..… (my emphasis)

How do you know that there is a “WHY” ?[/b]

Originally posted by FabianFnas
That's one interpretation.

Another interpretation is that if gravity was about as strong as the EM force, there would be no life in the universe to be able to ask the question at all.

And noone to answer the question...

Originally posted by Palynka
You're asking that question to the wrong poster.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
I've read that the origin of gravity has yet to be discovered, but I'm not so sure. Does anybody know where gravity comes from?


GRAVITATION, n. The tendency of all bodies to approach one another with a strength proportion to the quantity of matter they contain -- the quantity of matter they contain being ascertained by the strength of their tenden ...[text shortened]... of of B, makes B the proof of A. Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), 'The Devil's Dictionary', 1911

Originally posted by Andrew Hamilton
I assume you mean the “right” poster is “God” (except he didn’t actually post anything in this thread nor in these forums 😛 -So your implied suggestion doesn’t make much sense)
-in which case your assumption that there is a “WHY” is based entirely on your blind faith that there is a god and nothing else?

Originally posted by Palynka
PBE6 was asking why, I just said that there is a level of irreducibility over which no why (if any) can be known.

So you're knocking on the wrong door. I never assumed there is a why.

On the other hand, you assume a lot of stuff in your post. All wrong, by the way, as I'm an atheist.

Originally posted by Andrew Hamilton
I sincerely apologies on both accounts 🙂

I got the impression that you were a Creationist from your last reply to FabianFnas’s post -but now I
re-read it, I see that I was jumping to conclutions.

Originally posted by Palynka
That's cool, Andrew. I like your fighting spirit. 🙂

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
Have you stopped beating your wife?

So the main idea here is gravity came from space, it is a bending of space which causes matter to come together and orbit and all that. So if gravity is just that, and string theory is right, then what happens at the boundary of these dimensions, there is clearly some kind of separation of dimensions from our space-time, that is to say the purported dimensions needed to satisfy string theory. It would seem that gravity is more than just the bending of space if it goes between spaces (dimensions), there should be a boundary condition where you are on a space-time fence and gravity goes through that fence of the barrier between dimensions and I would assume the boundary to be non-space time so it would appear (if string theory is right) that gravity can also exist outside of space. So that would further deepen the question of just what is gravity.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
I've read that the origin of gravity has yet to be discovered, but I'm not so sure. Does anybody know where gravity comes from?


GRAVITATION, n. The tendency of all bodies to approach one another with a strength proportion to the quantity of matter they contain -- the quantity of matter they contain being ascertained by the strength of their tenden ...[text shortened]... of of B, makes B the proof of A. Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), 'The Devil's Dictionary', 1911

Originally posted by jaywill
The lattest I heard was that gravity is the effect caused by the curvature of space around mass.

I do not understand this and cannot explain it further.

Originally posted by Andrew Hamilton
Those that have studied general relativity understand it -Einstein logically deduced it by considering accelerating frames of reference (as opposed to frames of reference that are NOT accelerating as considered in special relativity) and noticing that if you are in free-fall then you are accelerating downwards AND you feel weightless and thus acceleration is equivalent to gravity!

Originally posted by jaywill
Explain a little more about the curvature of space around mass.

I understand something about Special Relativity up to the idea of spacetime manifold.

Uniform frame of reference and the constancy of the speed of light I grasp somewhat with time dilation.

I do not understand, from a layman's non rigorous mathematical point of view, the curvature of space around matter.