If something is inbetween two objects how do the particles know there is something bigger behind the object it needs to attract to?
In: Physics
What we perceive as the Force of Gravity is actually a warping of Space-Time produced by the presence of “*Things*”. “Things” in this context are Matter, Energy, and *maybe* some other things we don’t know about yet. If it **occupies** Space-Time, then it warps Space-Time.
Space-Time is the Space and Time that *Things* can occupy in this universe. When Space-Time is warped by the presence of *Things*, a *bias* is introduced into how *Things* move through that warped Space-Time. Objects will move towards the *Thing* that is warping Space-Time, unless they have reason *not to*. You experience this as Gravity.
—
The warping of Space-Time has some funky properties.
The Warping is at its most intense where the Thing is, and falls off relatively quickly… but never ceases to have an effect. This is the reason we have Ocean Tides on Earth. There are three sources of Gravity that are strong enough *on Earth* to affect the oceans: Earth, our Moon, and The Sun. When the Moon or the Sun is overhead, the gravitational bias changes enough that the oceans are “stirred up” by the small change in their weight.
The Warping produced by multiple *Things* located in the same place will “combine” to produce an aggregate effect larger than any one *thing* could manage. That’s why celestial bodies have Gravity Wells. The weight of any one grain of sand isn’t much, but the weight of the entire Earth and everything on it creates a Gravity Well that holds the whole thing together (and forces it to a roughly spherical shape).
> Weird Side Note: Gravity goes *weird* at the center of a Celestial Body. It you stand at the Center of Mass for a Planet… you’d probably experience something similar to Zero Gravity if it weren’t for the intense pressure of everything *else* being pulled towards you.
—
With that groundwork in place, we can answer your question.
> If something is inbetween two objects how do the particles know there is something bigger behind the object it needs to attract to?
This is the weirdest thing about Gravity to wrap your head around. Every other Fundamental Force has what are known as “carrier particles” that move information around. Gravity, as far as we can tell, *does not have a Carrier Particle*.
Gravity-Related Information is not directly shared between Particles… it is instead indirectly shared through the aforementioned warping of Space-Time. The particles don’t need to communicate, because the information is stored in the medium (Space-Time) they occupy.
The only way to affect the strength of a Gravitational Field is to either shove more *Things* into a space, intensifying the aggregate warping effect of that mass; or you need to take *Things* out of a space… spreading that effect out.
Latest Answers