Gravity:general question.

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and forums in general so excuse my lack of familiarity with the etiquette. Anyway, just to offer a little insight, I'm just an average Joe deeply interested in all aspects of physics of all types. Unfortunately my mathematical skill are lacking to say the least. *I joined this forum in hopes of obtaining a deeper understanding of some of the theories and concepts out there. So I just finished Einstein's relativity and special relativity. After a short conversation with a colleague I was left with headful of questions. This may seem simplistic, but he best way I can phrase it is; What property of an object generates gravity? Obviously the mass of an object determines the strength of the gravitational force of a body, but is *mass the only factor? Reading an article about the theory of Gravitons, the author mentioned that density may be a factor. Thanks in advance.*
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It seems there is an actual ether as postulated by some early astronomers. (Its such a crude word) but today we say (space time continuum) or fabric of space. More than likely this is the origin of the force of gravity and perhaps why we haven't found the particle (graviton) behind the conveyance of the force.

 

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(There are some days that I believe that gravity is a myth; Earth just sucks...

hard science not my strong suit either...accept James' excellent explanation.)

 

Congratulations on NOT answering his question on the theory of what Gravity is and what produces it.

Snoop you would do well to read the Book Einsteins Universe, It's difficult for beginners but it's excellent follow up to what you've already read.What Einstein discovered from his doubts of Newtons observations of Gravity that it was precisely equivalent to an object's inertial mass, that it was merely an accident of nature...gave way to our current understanding. Understating those doubts and the reason for those doubts might help you to understand.

From those doubts the sweeping insight he had is now called The Principle of Equivalence.. Under that concept gravity can be simply viewed as acceleration. He found THAT THE EFFECTS OF GRAVITY and ACCELERATION are INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM ONE ANOTHER.

 

Congratulations on making up your own question.
One that was not asked in the OP.

Which, strangely enough, also doesn't answer the question that wasn't asked.

 

How so?

His question is theoretical. What property of an object generates gravity?
We don't know. (there is the answer)

 

For the hard of understanding:

Satisfied?

 

Generate does not equal determine
(for those with an impaired vocabulary)

Determined
a. To decide or settle (a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively.
b. To end or decide, as by judicial action.

Generate
1.
a. To bring into being; give rise to: generate a discussion.
b. To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process: generate heat.

 

Very good, have you tried getting a better dictionary?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/determine


Amazing how many people actually do have an "impaired vocabulary".

 

Yes the reality of your thinking is that you think that Determine means Generate which it does not. Same source...

No "bring into being,"
No "produce" in that definition at all.

 

I see you don't actually know what "to be the cause of" means.
How strange.

 

Strange...yes.

You believe that cause is the context of JamesR's explanation where as he only identified what this individual already knew. That the object or MASS is associated with gravity.

Otherwise your statements are foolish because Gravity is one of the great mysteries of physics. We don't know how the effect is produce only that it is. He wanted to know what PROPERTY of MASS generates gravity. He was very specific.

 

Yes, so specific that you=, again, had to make up a question:

And now you're moving the goal posts.

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Ho hum...

 

No question was made up.

LOL
REALLY....you don't know what that informal fallcy means.
I didn't make a demand for any evidence.

 

I'm not some scientist or anything, but I don't see how density would be relevant. Density is a function of volume. Two objects can have the same mass, but different volumes. Any number of objects with the same mass but different volumes will still exert the same gravitational force between them.

 

Objects with the same mass but different volumes will also have a different radius. The gravitational force of an object depends not only on it's mass, but also on the distance from it's center of gravity.

 

Gravitons are subatomic and are strongly nuclear forces of unknown origin. It is the hope that the discovery of the Higgs Boson can by proxy answer this very question.

 

The postulated gravitons are massless particles, much like photons, with a spin-2. They are not nuclear in origin. The are the quantumized energy carrier of the gravitational field, much as photons are the energy carrier of the electromagnetic field.

Gravitons are not a feature of General Relativity. Their theoretical origin is in quantum field theory.

 

Thank you for putting it so eloquently.

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