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attract one another including stars, planets, galaxies and even light
and sub-atomic particles. Gravity is responsible for the formation of
the universe (e.g. creating spheres of hydrogen, igniting them under
pressure to form stars and grouping them in to galaxies). Gravity is
a cause of time dilation (time lapses more slowly in strong
gravitation). Without gravity, the universe would be without thermal
energy and composed only of equally spaced particles. On Earth,
gravity gives weight to physical objects and causes the tides.
Gravity has an infinite range, and it cannot be absorbed,
transformed, or shielded against.
Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of
relativity (proposed byAlbert Einstein in 1915) which describes
gravity, not as a force, but as a consequence of the curvature
of spacetime caused by the uneven distribution of mass/energy. For
most applications, gravity is well approximated by Newton's law of
universal gravitation, which postulates that the gravitational force of
two bodies of mass is directly proportional to the product of their
masses and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between them.
Gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental interactions of
nature. The gravitational attraction is approximately 1038 times the
strength of the strong force (i.e. gravity is 38 orders of magnitude
weaker), 1036 times the strength of the electromagnetic force, and
1029 times the strength of the weak force. As a consequence,
2.2 Equations for a falling body near the surface of the Earth
4 Alternative theories
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5 See also
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
Classical mechanics
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Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist who lived from 1642 to 1727
all objects fall at the same rate when other forces (such as air
resistance and electromagnetic effects) are negligible. More
sophisticated tests use a torsion balance of a type invented by
Etvs. Satellite experiments, for exampleSTEP, are planned for
more accurate experiments in space.[4]
Formulations of the equivalence principle include:
General relativity
General relativity
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Specifics
Earth's gravity
If an object with comparable mass to that of the Earth were to fall towards it,
then the corresponding acceleration of the Earth would be observable.
projected body with initial velocity v is useful for small heights and
small initial velocities only.
Gravity and astronomy
Rotation curve of a typical spiral galaxy: predicted (A) and observed (B). The
discrepancy between the curves is attributed to dark matter.
Alternative theories
Main article: Alternatives to general relativity
Historical alternative theories