Can Frequency Determine How Matter Couples to Gravity or EM Fields?

[Chris1000K]

Hi all,

This is a speculative question, but one I’d really appreciate input on from those with a stronger grounding in field theory and quantum mechanics.

We know that gravity and electromagnetism are fundamentally distinct forces, but they share a number of interesting parallels: both act at a distance, follow the inverse square law, and interact through continuous fields that permeate space.

That got me wondering:

Could it be possible that gravity and electromagnetism interact with matter based, at least in part, on the frequency of the particles or systems involved?
In other words:

• Electromagnetism seems to couple most strongly to high-frequency, fast-moving particles like electrons and photons.
• Gravity, in contrast, may couple more directly to slow-moving, low-frequency systems atoms, massive particles, and macroscopic bodies.

If this were true, gravity and EM might represent different parts of a broader interaction spectrum not unified in the traditional sense, but differentiated by the types of vibrational states or frequency bands of matter they interact with.

Some implications or questions that come to mind:

• Could this perspective help explain why we can manipulate EM fields so easily, but not gravity?
• Might strong EM fields partially shield or modulate gravitational effects, simply by engaging different energy states?
• Could this point toward any possible experimental approach even if just conceptually for frequency-selective gravitational interaction?
• Are there theories or prior experiments that might touch on this idea from another angle?

I’m aware this idea is speculative and may well conflict with established theory but I’d love to know if there’s a framework (either classical, relativistic, or quantum) where this line of inquiry has been explored, even partially.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[foghorn]

How would you explain Einstein Rings, if gravity doesn't affect photons?
And what about Gravitational Red Shift, this is gravity affecting an electromagnetic wave (photon).
If Gravity is a spacetime manifold, then wouldn’t all particles and other non-gravitational fields be affected by gravity?

 

[exchemist]

Hi all,

This is a speculative question, but one I’d really appreciate input on from those with a stronger grounding in field theory and quantum mechanics.

We know that gravity and electromagnetism are fundamentally distinct forces, but they share a number of interesting parallels: both act at a distance, follow the inverse square law, and interact through continuous fields that permeate space.

That got me wondering:

Could it be possible that gravity and electromagnetism interact with matter based, at least in part, on the frequency of the particles or systems involved?

In other words:

• Electromagnetism seems to couple most strongly to high-frequency, fast-moving particles like electrons and photons.
• Gravity, in contrast, may couple more directly to slow-moving, low-frequency systems atoms, massive particles, and macroscopic bodies.

If this were true, gravity and EM might represent different parts of a broader interaction spectrum not unified in the traditional sense, but differentiated by the types of vibrational states or frequency bands of matter they interact with.

Some implications or questions that come to mind:

• Could this perspective help explain why we can manipulate EM fields so easily, but not gravity?
• Might strong EM fields partially shield or modulate gravitational effects, simply by engaging different energy states?
• Could this point toward any possible experimental approach even if just conceptually for frequency-selective gravitational interaction?
• Are there theories or prior experiments that might touch on this idea from another angle?

I’m aware this idea is speculative and may well conflict with established theory but I’d love to know if there’s a framework (either classical, relativistic, or quantum) where this line of inquiry has been explored, even partially.

Thanks for any insight.

How are you reaching the conclusion that less massive particles have a higher frequency than more massive ones? What is this frequency you have in mind?

There may also be some room for confusion about what you mean by "coupling" in this context. Normally one speaks of radiation coupling to matter, rather than a field, e.g. when EM radiation is absorbed by an electron or a polar molecule. What one has there (using a classical model at least) is a dipole, due to some degree of electric charge separation in the atom or molecule, which can be forced to be extended and compressed by the oscillating electric field of the radiation, transferring energy. But with gravity there is a static field, with no oscillation, exerting a constant, one-directional attraction. There are no waves in a gravitational field, at least under most circumstances.

When you speak of electromagnetic "coupling" do you perhaps have in mind the unidirectional, constant or repulsion one sees in electrostatics? That would be more analogous to gravitation, it seems to me.