If gravity is curvature of space, and everything is traveling in a straight line in the curved space, then why do two objects traveling with different speed in same direction from same point take different trajectory?
Q2) Curvature explains orbiting satellites, but then how does simple falling of objects is described?
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Imagine 2 sailboats at the equator facing north, separated by a mile, let’s say. The boats start moving north at the same speed. From their perspective they are perfectly parallel to each other. Despite this, they will appear to be getting closer and closer together until, by the time they reach the North Pole, they will touch.
They may not understand why, if they were moving parallel, their boats would be drawn closer together and eventually meet. They may say that a “force” has been pulling them together.
Of course, we know that there is no force. It’s just the curvature of the surface of the earth that brings them together. They can’t perceive that curvature so they call it a force. They’re moving in a straight line on a curved surface, so it’s actually not straight.
Gravity is just like that. It’s a curvature in a higher dimension that we can’t perceive, so we call it a force.
Imagine 2 apples hurtling through space parallel to each other, separated by some distance. As time passes, they will get closer until they eventually touch. It appears to us that some “force” has brought them together, but it’s actually a curvature in a higher dimension that we can’t perceive that brings them together.
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