Gravity or gravitation is a natural phenomenon by which all things with energy are brought

towards (or 'gravitate' towards) one another including stars, planets, galaxies and even light and
sub-atomic particles. Gravity is responsible for the complexity in the universe, by creating
spheres of hydrogen where hydrogen fuses under pressure to form stars and grouping them
into galaxies. Without gravity, the universe would be an uncomplicated one, existing 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 by Albert
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; and resulting in time dilation,
where time lapses more slowly in strong gravitation. However, for most applications, gravity is
well approximated by Newton's law of universal gravitation, which postulates that gravity is a
force where two bodies of mass are directly drawn (or 'attracted') to each other according to a
mathematical relationship, where the attractive force is proportional to the product of their
masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This is considered
to occur over an infinite range, such that all bodies (with mass) in the universe are drawn to each
other no matter how far they are apart.
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, gravity has a negligible influence on the behavior
of sub-atomic particles, and plays no role in determining the internal properties of everyday
matter (but see quantum gravity). On the other hand, gravity is the dominant force at the
macroscopic scale, that is the cause of the formation, shape, and trajectory (orbit) of
astronomical bodies, including those of asteroids, comets, planets, stars, and galaxies. It is
responsible for causing the Earth and the other planets to orbit the Sun; for causing the Moon to
orbit the Earth; for the formation of tides; for natural convection, by which fluid flow occurs
under the influence of a density gradient and gravity; for heating the interiors of forming stars
and planets to very high temperatures; for solar system, galaxy, stellar formation and evolution;
and for various other phenomena observed on Earth and throughout the universe.
In pursuit of a theory of everything, the merging of general relativity and quantum mechanics (or
quantum field theory) into a more general theory of quantum gravity has become an area of
research.

Contents

1 History of gravitational theory

o 1.1 Scientific revolution
o 1.2 Newton's theory of gravitation
o 1.3 Equivalence principle
o 1.4 General relativity
1.4.1 Solutions

1.4.2 Tests
o 1.5 Gravity and quantum mechanics
2 Specifics
o 2.1 Earth's gravity
o 2.2 Equations for a falling body near the surface of the Earth
o 2.3 Gravity and astronomy
o 2.4 Gravitational radiation
o 2.5 Speed of gravity
3 Anomalies and discrepancies
4 Alternative theories
o 4.1 Historical alternative theories
o 4.2 Modern alternative theories
5 See also
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

History of gravitational theory

Main article: History of gravitational theory

Classical mechanics

Second law of motion

History

Timeline

Branches[show]
Fundamentals[show]
Formulations[show]
Core topics[show]
Rotation[show]
Scientists[show]

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Scientific revolution
Modern work on gravitational theory began with the work of Galileo Galilei in the late 16th and
early 17th centuries. In his famous (though possibly apocryphal[1]) experiment dropping balls
from the Tower of Pisa, and later with careful measurements of balls rolling down inclines,
Galileo showed that gravity accelerates all objects at the same rate. This was a major departure
from Aristotle's belief that heavier objects accelerate faster.[2] Galileo postulated air resistance as
the reason that lighter objects may fall more slowly in an atmosphere. Galileo's work set the
stage for the formulation of Newton's theory of gravity.

Newton's theory of gravitation

Main article: Newton's law of universal gravitation

Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist who lived from 1642 to 1727
In 1687, English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton published Principia, which hypothesizes the
inverse-square law of universal gravitation. In his own words, "I deduced that the forces which
keep the planets in their orbs must [be] reciprocally as the squares of their distances from the
centers about which they revolve: and thereby compared the force requisite to keep the Moon in
her Orb with the force of gravity at the surface of the Earth; and found them answer pretty
nearly."[3] The equation is the following:

Where F is the force, m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects interacting, r is the distance
between the centers of the masses and G is the gravitational constant.
Newton's theory enjoyed its greatest success when it was used to predict the existence of
Neptune based on motions of Uranus that could not be accounted for by the actions of the other
planets. Calculations by both John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier predicted the general
position of the planet, and Le Verrier's calculations are what led Johann Gottfried Galle to the
discovery of Neptune.
A discrepancy in Mercury's orbit pointed out flaws in Newton's theory. By the end of the 19th
century, it was known that its orbit showed slight perturbations that could not be accounted for
entirely under Newton's theory, but all searches for another perturbing body (such as a planet
orbiting the Sun even closer than Mercury) had been fruitless. The issue was resolved in 1915 by
Albert Einstein's new theory of general relativity, which accounted for the small discrepancy in
Mercury's orbit.
Although Newton's theory has been superseded by the Einstein's general relativity, most modern
non-relativistic gravitational calculations are still made using the Newton's theory because it is
simpler to work with and it gives sufficiently accurate results for most applications involving
sufficiently small masses, speeds and energies.

Equivalence principle
The equivalence principle, explored by a succession of researchers including Galileo, Lornd
Etvs, and Einstein, expresses the idea that all objects fall in the same way. The simplest way to
test the weak equivalence principle is to drop two objects of different masses or compositions in
a vacuum and see whether they hit the ground at the same time. Such experiments demonstrate
that 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 example STEP, are planned for more accurate experiments in
space.[4]
Formulations of the equivalence principle include:

The weak equivalence principle: The trajectory of a point mass in a gravitational field
depends only on its initial position and velocity, and is independent of its composition.[5]
The Einsteinian equivalence principle: The outcome of any local non-gravitational
experiment in a freely falling laboratory is independent of the velocity of the laboratory
and its location in spacetime.[6]
The strong equivalence principle requiring both of the above.

General relativity
See also: Introduction to general relativity

Two-dimensional analogy of spacetime distortion generated by the mass of an object. Matter

changes the geometry of spacetime, this (curved) geometry being interpreted as gravity. White
lines do not represent the curvature of space but instead represent the coordinate system imposed
on the curved spacetime, which would be rectilinear in a flat spacetime.

General relativity

Introduction
o

History

Mathematical formulation

Resources
o

Tests

Fundamental concepts[show]
Phenomena[show]

Equations
Formalisms

[show]
Solutions[show]
Scientists[show]

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In general relativity, the effects of gravitation are ascribed to spacetime curvature instead of a
force. The starting point for general relativity is the equivalence principle, which equates free fall
with inertial motion and describes free-falling inertial objects as being accelerated relative to
non-inertial observers on the ground.[7][8] In Newtonian physics, however, no such acceleration
can occur unless at least one of the objects is being operated on by a force.
Einstein proposed that spacetime is curved by matter, and that free-falling objects are moving
along locally straight paths in curved spacetime. These straight paths are called geodesics. Like
Newton's first law of motion, Einstein's theory states that if a force is applied on an object, it
would deviate from a geodesic. For instance, we are no longer following geodesics while
standing because the mechanical resistance of the Earth exerts an upward force on us, and we are
non-inertial on the ground as a result. This explains why moving along the geodesics in
spacetime is considered inertial.
Einstein discovered the field equations of general relativity, which relate the presence of matter
and the curvature of spacetime and are named after him. The Einstein field equations are a set of
10 simultaneous, non-linear, differential equations. The solutions of the field equations are the
components of the metric tensor of spacetime. A metric tensor describes a geometry of
spacetime. The geodesic paths for a spacetime are calculated from the metric tensor.
Solutions
Notable solutions of the Einstein field equations include:

The Schwarzschild solution, which describes spacetime surrounding a spherically

symmetric non-rotating uncharged massive object. For compact enough objects, this
solution generated a black hole with a central singularity. For radial distances from the
center which are much greater than the Schwarzschild radius, the accelerations predicted
by the Schwarzschild solution are practically identical to those predicted by Newton's
theory of gravity.
The Reissner-Nordstrm solution, in which the central object has an electrical charge. For
charges with a geometrized length which are less than the geometrized length of the mass
of the object, this solution produces black holes with two event horizons.
The Kerr solution for rotating massive objects. This solution also produces black holes
with multiple event horizons.

The Kerr-Newman solution for charged, rotating massive objects. This solution also
produces black holes with multiple event horizons.
The cosmological Friedmann-Lematre-Robertson-Walker solution, which predicts the
expansion of the universe.