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To: lafroste
Gravity is not a state property. It is a happenstance, merely a result of other processes. Solve those processes (well, one of them) and you have the ability to control a gravitational field.

The ability to control gravity like this was a premise in Chris Nolan's SF film, Interstellar (2014). It is based on some speculative physical theories and conjectures currently being tossed around by Kip Thorne at Caltech (the scientific advisor for Interstellar) and other physicists.

It goes something like this: Quantum strings have endpoints that end in Dirichlet boundary conditions (the so-called 'D-branes'). Almost all the physical particles in the Standard Model are conjectured to be made of open quantum strings, and therefore they are constrained to only move along the paths of these D-branes. However, the conjectured force mediator particle for gravity - the graviton - has the vibrational states of a closed string, not an open one. That means that gravitons have no such limitations on their movement: They are not constrained to follow only the paths of the D-branes.

In other words, certain gravitational effects could in theory take place that defy Newtonian laws. This could be exploited (in principle) to create essentially a form of anti-gravity. And that, once achieved, could be used (again in principle) to move arbitrarily large objects up into outer space, including (for example) a rotating space habitat that could support thousands of people.

All of this is purely speculative, of course. Anyway, it's a cool film and worth watching.

17 posted on 07/30/2015 2:54:18 PM PDT by Gideon7
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To: Gideon7

I defied a Newtonian Law once.

The judge gave me ninety days.


22 posted on 07/30/2015 3:48:36 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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