Leaking Gravity May Explain Cosmic Puzzle

SPACE.com ^ | February 28, 2005 | Sara Goudarzi

[AntiGuv]

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[AntiGuv]

puzzle ping!

[PatrickHenry]

Science Ping!

An elite subset of the Evolution list.

See list's description in my freeper homepage. Then FReepmail to be added/dropped.

[TC Rider]

I think the gravity is leaking into my gut.

[RightWhale]

Yes, this may be testable. There was a different name associated with this idea, but I don't recall who it was, another physicist, a woman, I think.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I'm reminded of paleoanthropologists who create a new subspecies every time a bone pops up.

[Strategerist]

Yes this doesn't seem new; the idea of gravity leaking into other dimensions (and the possibility this could be tested experimentally) was mentioned in Brian Greene's superstring book.

[lafroste]

Gravity leakage should create minor deviations in the motion of planets and moons. Astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission installed mirrors on the lunar surface. By shooting lasers at the mirrors, a reflected beam can be monitored from Earth to measure tiny orbital fluctuations. Dvali said deviations in the Moon's path around Earth might reveal whether gravity is really leaking away.

Interesting theory. I would like an experiment of very accurate measurements of the Earth's gravitational field at different points in its solar orbit. Unfortunately, the hypothosis behind the experiment dictates that those measurements cannot be made on Earth or near Earth, making execution just a bit of a challenge.

I bet you would find variations on the order of 10E-13 at different orbital positions.

[GloriaJane]

I don't understand this. What happened to the big bang they have been telling us was the reason for our creation? Are they going away from that one new?

That one I could at least wrap my mind around because it worked in the same way shooting a shot gun worked. The shot in the shell expands outward as it travels. The further the shot travels the wider the separation of the pellets when they hit their target. That I can see. These new idea's just befuddle me.

[AntiGuv]

This avenue of inquiry is not meant to account for the expansion of the universe (which is what the Big Bang does) but rather to account for why the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

[GloriaJane]

Oh, I got cha. Thanks

[RightWhale]

This may also be related to why the strength of gravity is so much smaller than the other basic forces. All four should be roughly the same, but gravity is next to nothing by comparison. If most of the gravity is leaking, what we see is the small amount remaining in our universe.

[GloriaJane]

Ok, now I'm going to ask a really dumb question then I'm going to go run away and hide LOL!!

Is there such a thing as up or down in space? Like if bird shot were shot up, if there is such a thing as up in space, would it continue up for all time or would it reach a point where it began to fall? And if it did begin to fall how would it react? Would it, being in a vacume, travle at the same speed on it's way down?

[sourcery]

This story could have been titled: "When Gravity Take A Leak, Physicists Find It Repuslive." :-)

[Wisconsin155]

up or down would be relative.

An object thrown from space would continue on into forever. Unless it were dragged into a gravity well. Otherwise even if it were to collide with a rock it would still have momentum. Think of billiards on ice. It would not go up and then fall back. That would only happen from the bottom of a gravity well, ie a planet surface, etc

[ValerieUSA]

Why doesn't the moon crash into the earth?

[grey_whiskers]

This may also be related to why the strength of gravity is so much smaller than the other basic forces. All four should be roughly the same, but gravity is next to nothing by comparison. If most of the gravity is leaking, what we see is the small amount remaining in our universe.

Does the theory cover why it is only *gravity* that leaks?

Or is it that gravity is the only one of the four forces for which we can observe significant macroscopic effects on other massive bodies (i.e. galaxies) over astronomical distances?

I.e. strong and electroweak I wouldn't expect to notice affecting things however many gazillion light years away...

Full Disclosure: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

[GloriaJane]

Thank You!! :)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[redheadtoo]

Gravity is leaking? No wonder my gravity bill is so high. I'll call the Gravity company to come out tomorrow and fix it.