Gravity

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Gravityorgravitationisanaturalphenomenonbywhichall
thingswithmassarebroughttowards(or'gravitate'towards)one
anotherincludingstars,planets,galaxiesandevenlightandsub
atomicparticles.Gravityisresponsibleforthecomplexityinthe
universe,bycreatingspheresofhydrogenwherehydrogen
fusesunderpressuretoformstarsandgroupingtheminto
galaxies.Withoutgravity,theuniversewouldbean
uncomplicatedone,existingwithoutthermalenergyand
composedonlyofequallyspacedparticles.OnEarth,gravity
givesweighttophysicalobjectsandcausesthetides.Gravityhas
aninfiniterange,anditcannotbeabsorbed,transformed,or
shieldedagainst.

Hammerandfeatherdrop:Apollo15
astronautDavidScottontheMoon
enactingthelegendofGalileo's
gravityexperiment.(1.38MB,
ogg/Theoraformat).

Gravityismostaccuratelydescribedbythegeneraltheoryof
relativity(proposedbyAlbertEinsteinin1915)whichdescribes
gravity,notasaforce,butasaconsequenceofthecurvatureof
spacetimecausedbytheunevendistributionofmass/energyandresultingintimedilation,wheretime
lapsesmoreslowlyinstronggravitation.However,formostapplications,gravityiswellapproximated
byNewton'slawofuniversalgravitation,whichpostulatesthatgravityisaforcewheretwobodiesof
massaredirectlydrawn(or'attracted')toeachotheraccordingtoamathematicalrelationship,wherethe
attractiveforceisproportionaltotheproductoftheirmassesandinverselyproportionaltothesquareof
thedistancebetweenthem.Thisisconsideredtooccuroveraninfiniterange,suchthatallbodies(with
mass)intheuniversearedrawntoeachothernomatterhowfartheyareapart.
Gravityistheweakestofthefourfundamentalinteractionsofnature.Thegravitationalattractionis
approximately1038timesthestrengthofthestrongforce(i.e.gravityis38ordersofmagnitude
weaker),1036timesthestrengthoftheelectromagneticforce,and1029timesthestrengthoftheweak
force.Asaconsequence,gravityhasanegligibleinfluenceonthebehaviorofsubatomicparticles,and
playsnoroleindeterminingtheinternalpropertiesofeverydaymatter(butseequantumgravity).Onthe
otherhand,gravityisthedominantforceatthemacroscopicscale,thatisthecauseoftheformation,
shape,andtrajectory(orbit)ofastronomicalbodies,includingthoseofasteroids,comets,planets,stars,
andgalaxies.ItisresponsibleforcausingtheEarthandtheotherplanetstoorbittheSunforcausingthe
MoontoorbittheEarthfortheformationoftidesfornaturalconvection,bywhichfluidflowoccurs
undertheinfluenceofadensitygradientandgravityforheatingtheinteriorsofformingstarsand
planetstoveryhightemperaturesforsolarsystem,galaxy,stellarformationandevolutionandfor
variousotherphenomenaobservedonEarthandthroughouttheuniverse.
Inpursuitofatheoryofeverything,themergingofgeneralrelativityandquantummechanics(or
quantumfieldtheory)intoamoregeneraltheoryofquantumgravityhasbecomeanareaofresearch.

Contents
1 Historyofgravitationaltheory
1.1 Scientificrevolution

1.2 Newton'stheoryofgravitation
1.3 Equivalenceprinciple
1.4 Generalrelativity
1.4.1 Solutions
1.4.2 Tests
1.5 Gravityandquantummechanics
2 Specifics
2.1 Earth'sgravity
2.2 EquationsforafallingbodynearthesurfaceoftheEarth
2.3 Gravityandastronomy
2.4 Gravitationalradiation
2.5 Speedofgravity
3 Anomaliesanddiscrepancies
4 Alternativetheories
4.1 Historicalalternativetheories
4.2 Modernalternativetheories
5 Seealso
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 Furtherreading
9 Externallinks

Historyofgravitationaltheory
Scientificrevolution
ModernworkongravitationaltheorybeganwiththeworkofGalileoGalileiinthelate16thandearly
17thcenturies.Inhisfamous(thoughpossiblyapocryphal[1])experimentdroppingballsfromtheTower
ofPisa,andlaterwithcarefulmeasurementsofballsrollingdowninclines,Galileoshowedthatgravity
acceleratesallobjectsatthesamerate.ThiswasamajordeparturefromAristotle'sbeliefthatheavier

objectsacceleratefaster.[2]Galileopostulatedairresistanceasthereasonthatlighterobjectsmayfall
moreslowlyinanatmosphere.Galileo'sworksetthestagefortheformulationofNewton'stheoryof
gravity.

Newton'stheoryofgravitation
In1687,EnglishmathematicianSirIsaacNewtonpublished
Principia,whichhypothesizestheinversesquarelawof
universalgravitation.Inhisownwords,"Ideducedthatthe
forceswhichkeeptheplanetsintheirorbsmust[be]
reciprocallyasthesquaresoftheirdistancesfromthecenters
aboutwhichtheyrevolve:andtherebycomparedtheforce
requisitetokeeptheMooninherOrbwiththeforceof
gravityatthesurfaceoftheEarthandfoundthemanswer
prettynearly."[3]Theequationisthefollowing:

WhereFistheforce,m1andm2arethemassesofthe
objectsinteracting,risthedistancebetweenthecentersof
themassesandGisthegravitationalconstant.
Newton'stheoryenjoyeditsgreatestsuccesswhenitwas
SirIsaacNewton,anEnglishphysicistwho
usedtopredicttheexistenceofNeptunebasedonmotionsof
livedfrom1642to1727
Uranusthatcouldnotbeaccountedforbytheactionsofthe
otherplanets.CalculationsbybothJohnCouchAdamsand
UrbainLeVerrierpredictedthegeneralpositionoftheplanet,andLeVerrier'scalculationsarewhatled
JohannGottfriedGalletothediscoveryofNeptune.
AdiscrepancyinMercury'sorbitpointedoutflawsinNewton'stheory.Bytheendofthe19thcentury,it
wasknownthatitsorbitshowedslightperturbationsthatcouldnotbeaccountedforentirelyunder
Newton'stheory,butallsearchesforanotherperturbingbody(suchasaplanetorbitingtheSuneven
closerthanMercury)hadbeenfruitless.Theissuewasresolvedin1915byAlbertEinstein'snewtheory
ofgeneralrelativity,whichaccountedforthesmalldiscrepancyinMercury'sorbit.
AlthoughNewton'stheoryhasbeensupersededbytheEinstein'sgeneralrelativity,mostmodernnon
relativisticgravitationalcalculationsarestillmadeusingtheNewton'stheorybecauseitissimplerto
workwithanditgivessufficientlyaccurateresultsformostapplicationsinvolvingsufficientlysmall
masses,speedsandenergies.

Equivalenceprinciple
Theequivalenceprinciple,exploredbyasuccessionofresearchersincludingGalileo,LorndEtvs,
andEinstein,expressestheideathatallobjectsfallinthesameway.Thesimplestwaytotesttheweak
equivalenceprincipleistodroptwoobjectsofdifferentmassesorcompositionsinavacuumandsee
whethertheyhitthegroundatthesametime.Suchexperimentsdemonstratethatallobjectsfallatthe
sameratewhenotherforces(suchasairresistanceandelectromagneticeffects)arenegligible.More
sophisticatedtestsuseatorsionbalanceofatypeinventedbyEtvs.Satelliteexperiments,forexample
STEP,areplannedformoreaccurateexperimentsinspace.[4]

Formulationsoftheequivalenceprincipleinclude:
Theweakequivalenceprinciple:Thetrajectoryofapointmassinagravitationalfielddepends
onlyonitsinitialpositionandvelocity,andisindependentofitscomposition.[5]
TheEinsteinianequivalenceprinciple:Theoutcomeofanylocalnongravitationalexperimentina
freelyfallinglaboratoryisindependentofthevelocityofthelaboratoryanditslocationin
spacetime.[6]
Thestrongequivalenceprinciplerequiringbothoftheabove.

Generalrelativity
Ingeneralrelativity,theeffectsofgravitationare
ascribedtospacetimecurvatureinsteadofaforce.
Thestartingpointforgeneralrelativityisthe
equivalenceprinciple,whichequatesfreefallwith
inertialmotionanddescribesfreefallinginertial
objectsasbeingacceleratedrelativetononinertial
observersontheground.[7][8]InNewtonianphysics,
however,nosuchaccelerationcanoccurunlessat
leastoneoftheobjectsisbeingoperatedonbya
force.
Einsteinproposedthatspacetimeiscurvedby
matter,andthatfreefallingobjectsaremoving
alonglocallystraightpathsincurvedspacetime.
Thesestraightpathsarecalledgeodesics.Like
Newton'sfirstlawofmotion,Einstein'stheorystates
thatifaforceisappliedonanobject,itwould
deviatefromageodesic.Forinstance,weareno
longerfollowinggeodesicswhilestandingbecause
themechanicalresistanceoftheEarthexertsan
upwardforceonus,andwearenoninertialonthe
groundasaresult.Thisexplainswhymovingalong
thegeodesicsinspacetimeisconsideredinertial.

Twodimensionalanalogyofspacetimedistortion
generatedbythemassofanobject.Matterchanges
thegeometryofspacetime,this(curved)geometry
beinginterpretedasgravity.Whitelinesdonot
representthecurvatureofspacebutinstead
representthecoordinatesystemimposedonthe
curvedspacetime,whichwouldberectilinearina
flatspacetime.

Einsteindiscoveredthefieldequationsofgeneralrelativity,whichrelatethepresenceofmatterandthe
curvatureofspacetimeandarenamedafterhim.TheEinsteinfieldequationsareasetof10
simultaneous,nonlinear,differentialequations.Thesolutionsofthefieldequationsarethecomponents
ofthemetrictensorofspacetime.Ametrictensordescribesageometryofspacetime.Thegeodesicpaths
foraspacetimearecalculatedfromthemetrictensor.
Solutions
NotablesolutionsoftheEinsteinfieldequationsinclude:
TheSchwarzschildsolution,whichdescribesspacetimesurroundingasphericallysymmetricnon
rotatingunchargedmassiveobject.Forcompactenoughobjects,thissolutiongeneratedablack
holewithacentralsingularity.Forradialdistancesfromthecenterwhicharemuchgreaterthan
theSchwarzschildradius,theaccelerationspredictedbytheSchwarzschildsolutionarepractically
identicaltothosepredictedbyNewton'stheoryofgravity.
TheReissnerNordstrmsolution,inwhichthecentralobjecthasanelectricalcharge.Forcharges
withageometrizedlengthwhicharelessthanthegeometrizedlengthofthemassoftheobject,

thissolutionproducesblackholeswithtwoeventhorizons.
TheKerrsolutionforrotatingmassiveobjects.Thissolutionalsoproducesblackholeswith
multipleeventhorizons.
TheKerrNewmansolutionforcharged,rotatingmassiveobjects.Thissolutionalsoproduces
blackholeswithmultipleeventhorizons.
ThecosmologicalFriedmannLematreRobertsonWalkersolution,whichpredictstheexpansion
oftheuniverse.
Tests
Thetestsofgeneralrelativityincludedthefollowing:[9]
GeneralrelativityaccountsfortheanomalousperihelionprecessionofMercury.[10]
Thepredictionthattimerunssloweratlowerpotentials(gravitationaltimedilation)hasbeen
confirmedbythePoundRebkaexperiment(1959),theHafeleKeatingexperiment,andtheGPS.
ThepredictionofthedeflectionoflightwasfirstconfirmedbyArthurStanleyEddingtonfromhis
observationsduringtheSolareclipseofMay29,1919.[11][12]Eddingtonmeasuredstarlight
deflectionstwicethosepredictedbyNewtoniancorpusculartheory,inaccordancewiththe
predictionsofgeneralrelativity.However,hisinterpretationoftheresultswaslaterdisputed.[13]
MorerecenttestsusingradiointerferometricmeasurementsofquasarspassingbehindtheSun
havemoreaccuratelyandconsistentlyconfirmedthedeflectionoflighttothedegreepredictedby
generalrelativity.[14]Seealsogravitationallens.
ThetimedelayoflightpassingclosetoamassiveobjectwasfirstidentifiedbyIrwinI.Shapiroin
1964ininterplanetaryspacecraftsignals.
Gravitationalradiationhasbeenindirectlyconfirmedthroughstudiesofbinarypulsars.
AlexanderFriedmannin1922foundthatEinsteinequationshavenonstationarysolutions(evenin
thepresenceofthecosmologicalconstant).In1927GeorgesLematreshowedthatstaticsolutions
oftheEinsteinequations,whicharepossibleinthepresenceofthecosmologicalconstant,are
unstable,andthereforethestaticuniverseenvisionedbyEinsteincouldnotexist.Later,in1931,
EinsteinhimselfagreedwiththeresultsofFriedmannandLematre.Thusgeneralrelativity
predictedthattheUniversehadtobenonstaticithadtoeitherexpandorcontract.The
expansionoftheuniversediscoveredbyEdwinHubblein1929confirmedthisprediction.[15]
Thetheory'spredictionofframedraggingwasconsistentwiththerecentGravityProbeB
results.[16]
Generalrelativitypredictsthatlightshouldloseitsenergywhentravelingawayfrommassive
bodiesthroughgravitationalredshift.Thiswasverifiedonearthandinthesolarsystemaround
1960.

Gravityandquantummechanics
Inthedecadesafterthediscoveryofgeneralrelativity,itwasrealizedthatgeneralrelativityis
incompatiblewithquantummechanics.[17]Itispossibletodescribegravityintheframeworkofquantum
fieldtheoryliketheotherfundamentalforces,suchthattheattractiveforceofgravityarisesdueto
exchangeofvirtualgravitons,inthesamewayastheelectromagneticforcearisesfromexchangeof
virtualphotons.[18][19]Thisreproducesgeneralrelativityintheclassicallimit.However,thisapproach
failsatshortdistancesoftheorderofthePlancklength,[17]whereamorecompletetheoryofquantum
gravity(oranewapproachtoquantummechanics)isrequired.

Specifics

Earth'sgravity
Everyplanetarybody(includingtheEarth)issurroundedbyitsowngravitationalfield,whichcanbe
conceptualizedwithNewtonianphysicsasexertinganattractiveforceonallobjects.Assuminga
sphericallysymmetricalplanet,thestrengthofthisfieldatanygivenpointabovethesurfaceis
proportionaltotheplanetarybody'smassandinverselyproportionaltothesquareofthedistancefrom
thecenterofthebody.
Thestrengthofthegravitationalfieldisnumericallyequaltotheaccelerationofobjectsunderits
influence.TherateofaccelerationoffallingobjectsneartheEarth'ssurfacevariesveryslightly
dependingonlatitude,surfacefeaturessuchasmountainsandridges,andperhapsunusuallyhighorlow
subsurfacedensities.[20]Forpurposesofweightsandmeasures,astandardgravityvalueisdefinedby
theInternationalBureauofWeightsandMeasures,undertheInternationalSystemofUnits(SI).
Thatvalue,denotedg,isg=9.80665m/s2(32.1740ft/s2).[21][22]
Thestandardvalueof9.80665m/s2istheoneoriginallyadoptedbytheInternationalCommitteeon
WeightsandMeasuresin1901for45latitude,eventhoughithasbeenshowntobetoohighbyabout
fivepartsintenthousand.[23]Thisvaluehaspersistedinmeteorologyandinsomestandardatmospheres
asthevaluefor45latitudeeventhoughitappliesmorepreciselytolatitudeof4532'33".[24]
Assumingthestandardizedvalueforgandignoringairresistance,thismeansthatanobjectfalling
freelyneartheEarth'ssurfaceincreasesitsvelocityby9.80665m/s(32.1740ft/sor22mph)foreach
secondofitsdescent.Thus,anobjectstartingfromrestwillattainavelocityof9.80665m/s
(32.1740ft/s)afteronesecond,approximately19.62m/s(64.4ft/s)aftertwoseconds,andsoon,adding
9.80665m/s(32.1740ft/s)toeachresultingvelocity.Also,againignoringairresistance,anyandall
objects,whendroppedfromthesameheight,willhitthegroundatthesametime.
AccordingtoNewton's3rdLaw,theEarthitselfexperiencesa
forceequalinmagnitudeandoppositeindirectiontothatwhich
itexertsonafallingobject.ThismeansthattheEarthalso
acceleratestowardstheobjectuntiltheycollide.Becausethe
massoftheEarthishuge,however,theaccelerationimpartedto
theEarthbythisoppositeforceisnegligibleincomparisontothe
object's.Iftheobjectdoesn'tbounceafterithascollidedwiththe
Earth,eachofthemthenexertsarepulsivecontactforceonthe
otherwhicheffectivelybalancestheattractiveforceofgravity
andpreventsfurtheracceleration.

Ifanobjectwithcomparablemassto
thatoftheEarthweretofalltowards
it,thenthecorrespondingacceleration
oftheEarthwouldbeobservable.

TheforceofgravityonEarthistheresultant(vectorsum)oftwoforces:(a)Thegravitationalattraction
inaccordancewithNewton'suniversallawofgravitation,and(b)thecentrifugalforce,whichresults
fromthechoiceofanearthbound,rotatingframeofreference.Attheequator,theforceofgravityisthe
weakestduetothecentrifugalforcecausedbytheEarth'srotation.Theforceofgravityvarieswith
latitudeandincreasesfromabout9.780m/s2attheEquatortoabout9.832m/s2atthepoles.

EquationsforafallingbodynearthesurfaceoftheEarth
Underanassumptionofconstantgravitationalattraction,Newton'slawofuniversalgravitation
simplifiestoF=mg,wheremisthemassofthebodyandgisaconstantvectorwithanaverage
magnitudeof9.81m/s2onEarth.Thisresultingforceistheobject'sweight.Theaccelerationdueto

gravityisequaltothisg.Aninitiallystationaryobjectwhichisallowedtofall
freelyundergravitydropsadistancewhichisproportionaltothesquareofthe
elapsedtime.Theimageontheright,spanninghalfasecond,wascapturedwitha
stroboscopicflashat20flashespersecond.Duringthefirst120ofasecondtheball
dropsoneunitofdistance(here,aunitisabout12mm)by220ithasdroppedat
totalof4unitsby320,9unitsandsoon.
Underthesameconstantgravityassumptions,thepotentialenergy,Ep,ofabodyat
heighthisgivenbyEp=mgh(orEp=Wh,withWmeaningweight).This
expressionisvalidonlyoversmalldistanceshfromthesurfaceoftheEarth.
Similarly,theexpression
forthemaximumheightreachedbyavertically
projectedbodywithinitialvelocityvisusefulforsmallheightsandsmallinitial
velocitiesonly.

Gravityandastronomy
Ballfalling
TheapplicationofNewton'slawofgravity
freelyunder
hasenabledtheacquisitionofmuchofthe
gravity.Seetext
detailedinformationwehaveaboutthe
fordescription.
planetsintheSolarSystem,themassofthe
Sun,anddetailsofquasarseventhe
existenceofdarkmatterisinferredusingNewton'slawof
gravity.Althoughwehavenottraveledtoalltheplanetsnorto
theSun,weknowtheirmasses.Thesemassesareobtainedby
applyingthelawsofgravitytothemeasuredcharacteristicsof
theorbit.Inspaceanobjectmaintainsitsorbitbecauseofthe
Gravityactsonstarsthatconformour
forceofgravityactinguponit.Planetsorbitstars,starsorbit
MilkyWay. [25]
galacticcenters,galaxiesorbitacenterofmassinclusters,and
clustersorbitinsuperclusters.Theforceofgravityexertedon
oneobjectbyanotherisdirectlyproportionaltotheproductofthoseobjects'massesandinversely
proportionaltothesquareofthedistancebetweenthem.

Gravitationalradiation
Ingeneralrelativity,gravitationalradiationisgeneratedinsituationswherethecurvatureofspacetimeis
oscillating,suchasisthecasewithcoorbitingobjects.ThegravitationalradiationemittedbytheSolar
Systemisfartoosmalltomeasure.However,gravitationalradiationhasbeenindirectlyobservedasan
energylossovertimeinbinarypulsarsystemssuchasPSRB1913+16.Itisbelievedthatneutronstar
mergersandblackholeformationmaycreatedetectableamountsofgravitationalradiation.Gravitational
radiationobservatoriessuchastheLaserInterferometerGravitationalWaveObservatory(LIGO)have
beencreatedtostudytheproblem.Noconfirmeddetectionshavebeenmadeofthishypothetical
radiation.

Speedofgravity
InDecember2012,aresearchteaminChinaannouncedthatithadproducedmeasurementsofthephase
lagofEarthtidesduringfullandnewmoonswhichseemtoprovethatthespeedofgravityisequalto
thespeedoflight.[26]ThismeansthatiftheSunsuddenlydisappeared,theEarthwouldkeeporbitingit

normallyfor8minutes,whichisthetimelighttakestotravelthatdistance.Theteam'sfindingswere
releasedintheChineseScienceBulletininFebruary2013.[27]

Anomaliesanddiscrepancies
Therearesomeobservationsthatarenotadequatelyaccountedfor,whichmaypointtotheneedfor
bettertheoriesofgravityorperhapsbeexplainedinotherways.
Extrafaststars:Starsingalaxiesfollowa
distributionofvelocitieswherestarsontheoutskirts
aremovingfasterthantheyshouldaccordingtothe
observeddistributionsofnormalmatter.Galaxies
withingalaxyclustersshowasimilarpattern.Dark
matter,whichwouldinteractgravitationallybutnot
electromagnetically,wouldaccountforthe
discrepancy.VariousmodificationstoNewtonian
dynamicshavealsobeenproposed.
Flybyanomaly:Variousspacecrafthaveexperienced
Rotationcurveofatypicalspiralgalaxy:
greateraccelerationthanexpectedduringgravity
predicted(A)andobserved(B).The
assistmaneuvers.
discrepancybetweenthecurvesis
Acceleratingexpansion:Themetricexpansionof
attributedtodarkmatter.
spaceseemstobespeedingup.Darkenergyhasbeen
proposedtoexplainthis.Arecentalternative
explanationisthatthegeometryofspaceisnothomogeneous(duetoclustersofgalaxies)andthat
whenthedataarereinterpretedtotakethisintoaccount,theexpansionisnotspeedingupafter
all,[28]howeverthisconclusionisdisputed.[29]
Anomalousincreaseoftheastronomicalunit:Recentmeasurementsindicatethatplanetary
orbitsarewideningfasterthanifthisweresolelythroughtheSunlosingmassbyradiatingenergy.
Extraenergeticphotons:Photonstravellingthroughgalaxyclustersshouldgainenergyandthen
loseitagainonthewayout.Theacceleratingexpansionoftheuniverseshouldstopthephotons
returningalltheenergy,buteventakingthisintoaccountphotonsfromthecosmicmicrowave
backgroundradiationgaintwiceasmuchenergyasexpected.Thismayindicatethatgravityfalls
offfasterthaninversesquaredatcertaindistancescales.[30]
Extramassivehydrogenclouds:ThespectrallinesoftheLymanalphaforestsuggestthat
hydrogencloudsaremoreclumpedtogetheratcertainscalesthanexpectedand,likedarkflow,
mayindicatethatgravityfallsoffslowerthaninversesquaredatcertaindistancescales.[30]
Power:Proposedextradimensionscouldexplainwhythegravityforceissoweak.[31]

Alternativetheories
Historicalalternativetheories
Aristoteliantheoryofgravity
LeSage'stheoryofgravitation(1784)alsocalledLeSagegravity,proposedbyGeorgesLouisLe
Sage,basedonafluidbasedexplanationwherealightgasfillstheentireuniverse.
Ritz'stheoryofgravitation,Ann.Chem.Phys.13,145,(1908)pp.267271,WeberGauss
electrodynamicsappliedtogravitation.Classicaladvancementofperihelia.
Nordstrm'stheoryofgravitation(1912,1913),anearlycompetitorofgeneralrelativity.
KaluzaKleintheory(1921)
Whitehead'stheoryofgravitation(1922),anotherearlycompetitorofgeneralrelativity.

Modernalternativetheories
BransDicketheoryofgravity(1961)[32]
Inducedgravity(1967),aproposalbyAndreiSakharovaccordingtowhichgeneralrelativity
mightarisefromquantumfieldtheoriesofmatter
(R)gravity(1970)
Horndeskitheory(1974)[33]
Supergravity(1976)
Stringtheory
InthemodifiedNewtoniandynamics(MOND)(1981),MordehaiMilgromproposesa
modificationofNewton'sSecondLawofmotionforsmallaccelerations[34]
Theselfcreationcosmologytheoryofgravity(1982)byG.A.BarberinwhichtheBransDicke
theoryismodifiedtoallowmasscreation
Loopquantumgravity(1988)byCarloRovelli,LeeSmolin,andAbhayAshtekar
Nonsymmetricgravitationaltheory(NGT)(1994)byJohnMoffat
Conformalgravity[35]
Tensorvectorscalargravity(TeVeS)(2004),arelativisticmodificationofMONDbyJacob
Bekenstein
Gravityasanentropicforce,gravityarisingasanemergentphenomenonfromthethermodynamic
conceptofentropy.
Inthesuperfluidvacuumtheorythegravityandcurvedspacetimeariseasacollectiveexcitation
modeofnonrelativisticbackgroundsuperfluid.
Chameleontheory(2004)byJustinKhouryandAmandaWeltman.
Pressurontheory(2013)byOlivierMinazzoliandAurlienHees.

Seealso
Angularmomentum
Antigravity,theideaofneutralizingorrepellinggravity
Artificialgravity
Birkelandcurrent
Gravitationalwave
Gravitationalwavebackground
Cosmicgravitationalwavebackground
EinsteinInfeldHoffmannequations
Escapevelocity,theminimumvelocityneededtoescapefromagravitywell
gforce,ameasureofacceleration
Gaugegravitationtheory
Gauss'slawforgravity
Gravitationalbindingenergy
Gravityassist
Gravitygradiometry
GravityRecoveryandClimateExperiment
GravityResearchFoundation
JovianPlutoniangravitationaleffect
Kepler'sthirdlawofplanetarymotion
Lagrangianpoint
Microgenvironment,alsocalledmicrogravity
Mixmasterdynamics
nbodyproblem
Newton'slawsofmotion
Pioneeranomaly

Scalartheoriesofgravitation
Speedofgravity
Standardgravitationalparameter
Standardgravity
Weightlessness

Footnotes
1. Ball,Phil(June2005)."TallTales".NatureNews.doi:10.1038/news05061310.
2. Galileo(1638),TwoNewSciences,FirstDay(http://oll.libertyfund.org/?
option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=753&chapter=109891&layout=html&Itemid=27)Salviati
speaks:"IfthiswerewhatAristotlemeantyouwouldburdenhimwithanothererrorwhichwouldamounttoa
falsehoodbecause,sincethereisnosuchsheerheightavailableonearth,itisclearthatAristotlecouldnot
havemadetheexperimentyethewishestogiveustheimpressionofhishavingperformeditwhenhespeaks
ofsuchaneffectasonewhichwesee."
3. *Chandrasekhar,Subrahmanyan(2003).Newton'sPrincipiaforthecommonreader.Oxford:Oxford
UniversityPress.(pp.12).Thequotationcomesfromamemorandumthoughttohavebeenwrittenabout
1714.Asearlyas1645IsmalBullialdushadarguedthatanyforceexertedbytheSunondistantobjects
wouldhavetofollowaninversesquarelaw.However,healsodismissedtheideathatanysuchforcedid
exist.See,forexample,Linton,ChristopherM.(2004).FromEudoxustoEinsteinAHistoryof
MathematicalAstronomy.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.p.225.ISBN9780521827508.
4. M.C.W.Sandford(2008)."STEP:SatelliteTestoftheEquivalencePrinciple".RutherfordAppleton
Laboratory.Retrieved20111014.
5. PaulSWesson(2006).FivedimensionalPhysics.WorldScientific.p.82.ISBN9812566619.
6. Haugen,MarkP.C.Lmmerzahl(2001).PrinciplesofEquivalence:TheirRoleinGravitationPhysicsand
ExperimentsthatTestThem.Springer.arXiv:grqc/0103067.ISBN9783540412366.
7. "GravityandWarpedSpacetime".blackholes.org.Retrieved20101016.
8. DmitriPogosyan."Lecture20:BlackHolesTheEinsteinEquivalencePrinciple".UniversityofAlberta.
Retrieved20111014.
9. Pauli,WolfgangErnst(1958)."PartIV.GeneralTheoryofRelativity".TheoryofRelativity.CourierDover
Publications.ISBN9780486641522.
10. MaxBorn(1924),Einstein'sTheoryofRelativity(The1962Doveredition,page348listsatabledocumenting
theobservedandcalculatedvaluesfortheprecessionoftheperihelionofMercury,Venus,andEarth.)
11. Dyson,F.W.Eddington,A.S.Davidson,C.R.(1920)."ADeterminationoftheDeflectionofLightbythe
Sun'sGravitationalField,fromObservationsMadeattheTotalEclipseofMay29,1919".Phil.Trans.Roy.
Soc.A220(571581):291333.Bibcode:1920RSPTA.220..291D.doi:10.1098/rsta.1920.0009..Quote,p.
332:"ThustheresultsoftheexpeditionstoSobralandPrincipecanleavelittledoubtthatadeflectionoflight
takesplaceintheneighbourhoodofthesunandthatitisoftheamountdemandedbyEinstein'sgeneralised
theoryofrelativity,asattributabletothesun'sgravitationalfield."
12. Weinberg,Steven(1972).Gravitationandcosmology.JohnWiley&Sons..Quote,p.192:"Aboutadozen
starsinallwerestudied,andyieldedvalues1.980.11"and1.610.31",insubstantialagreementwith
Einstein'sprediction=1.75"."
13. Earman,JohnGlymour,Clark(1980)."RelativityandEclipses:TheBritisheclipseexpeditionsof1919and
theirpredecessors".HistoricalStudiesinthePhysicalSciences11:4985.doi:10.2307/27757471.
14. Weinberg,Steven(1972).Gravitationandcosmology.JohnWiley&Sons.p.194.
15. SeeW.Pauli,1958,pp.219220
16. "NASA'sGravityProbeBConfirmsTwoEinsteinSpaceTimeTheories".Nasa.gov.Retrieved20130723.
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Furtherreading
Thorne,KipS.Misner,CharlesW.Wheeler,JohnArchibald(1973).Gravitation.W.H.
Freeman.ISBN0716703440.

Externallinks
Hazewinkel,Michiel,ed.(2001),"Gravitation",
EncyclopediaofMathematics,Springer,ISBN9781
556080104
Hazewinkel,Michiel,ed.(2001),"Gravitation,theoryof",
EncyclopediaofMathematics,Springer,ISBN9781

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