what is ‘quantum gravity’? is there any way that gravity could be quantized?
In: Physics
Our current understanding of gravity is that mass bends spacetime, and matter moves in straight lines according to thay curved space, and that’s what we experience as gravity.
This doesn’t explain gravity on the quantum scale. Our idea of quantum gravity is that particles exchange a particle called a graviton and that particle is what causes the force of gravity to occur.
This brings it in line with the other 3 forces. The electromagnetic force is caused by an exchange of photons, the weak force is done by the W and Z bosons, and the strong force is done by the exchange of gluons.
The problem is, gravity is so weak compared to the other forces, especially at that scale, that even if gravitons do exist, we don’t have any technology sensitive enough to detect them
This is currently the biggest problem in physics, and explaining it in more depth than this takes us out of ELI5 territory
Sure, there are ways gravity might be quantized. Are any of them right? Who knows. Loop Quantum Gravity is farther along, and actually makes some predictions. We haven’t verified any of them yet, but it took a long time to find the Higgs Boson.
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