File :[springpain.swf] - (2.22 MB)
[_] [L] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)17:32 No.989266
placing my reply here since the thread died.
>>989136
yeah ok gravity exists. but why? why do atoms attract each other, and why do many in a group do
it more than less? why is the pull towards the center of that group? why does gravity fade out
the longer from the center of the group you get?
was replying:
>Gravity is described as an inherent property of all matter that causes particles to attract
toward one another.
>Understanding and controlling gravity may be necessary for us to develop true space travel.
he was replying:
>what the hell is gravity? can you see it?
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)17:40 No.989272
>>989266
Gravity is bent space-time. A well-known metaphor visualises it as an elastic fleece with a
bowling ball placed on it.
The ball bends the fleece into a pit, and a ping pong ball rolling close enough past it over the
fleece will roll into the pit.
This is why gravitational pull is towards the centre of the body, and decreases over distance.
The influence the body exerts on the space-time is local, and the further from it you get, the
more space-time assumes its natural form again - being flat.
The reason why many atoms exert more gravity than few atoms is because the tiny bit of pull from
every individual atom is added up.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)17:43 No.989274
>>989272
Not the guy you were talking to, by the way. I didn't see the original thread. Just sharing my
modest knowledge on the subject.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)17:48 No.989281
>>989272
ok that was a good visualisation, and helps you think of how it is. but why is it like that? i
mean, space in reality isn't elastic fleece and a planet isn't a bowling ball and a moon isn't a
ping pong ball rolling by. saying that gravity is "bent space-time" is like saying that gravity
is "gravity", because that is what "bent space-time" is.
it'll be cool when science can explain why things are like they are and not just how they are
that way.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)18:04 No.989308
>>989281
Actually, we have good reasons to believe space IS for all intents and purposes exactly like that
elastic fleece, and planets are indeed pretty much just heavy balls - only it all works in four
spatial dimensions rather than the three of the metaphor.
And thus I do think "bent space-time" is more informative than just "gravity".
>it'll be cool when science can explain why things are like they are and not just how they are
that way.
What.
That's an insanely nonsensical thing to say. Do you even know what that means?
What exactly is the difference between "how" something is the way it is and "why" it is so? You
want a purpose rather than an explanation? You won't get any, ever.
Gravity doesn't have a purpose any more than an icicle does. It's a natural phenomenon that
follows from mindless, deterministic principles. Science's job is to uncover what these
principles are.
This may be just the "how", but the "how" is all there is.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)18:06 No.989310
GRAVITY IS THE HAND OF GOD UPON US ALL
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/09(Wed)18:53 No.989367
what is the song name
