At just about any other place in this universe, there is more or less than 1 G of gravity present. But a gravity of 1 G is such ordinary force in our daily life on the surface of this Earth, that we don't think about it much. A 1KG teddybear weighs more or less just about everywhere. Most people don't have a clue of what gravity is.
If it is possible to generate a gravity force in one direction, then we could have "the ultimate" space propulsion system; not having to take propellant mass onboard (boy; will they laugh at our 2006-style rockets!). Also would there be no more need for roads and rails so we can clean up that mess. It will change the way we live.
But for that to happen, we first have to understand gravity and such basic elements.
To me it's not yet clear if it's possible to create and use a gravity force, not even in theory. Anyone who knows of real phenomena that have influence on gravity, please let me know.
What we can observe:
- Mass seems to attract mass, the gravitational force moves them closer to each other anyhow. A case of push or pull?
- The more distance from a mass, the weaker the gravitational force is. But the force never snaps to zero, there's no minimum power to it, or is there?
- A mass in a gravitational field is experiencing a force similar to accelerating. It's probably exactly the same thing..
- There is no material known to me that can schield/reflect this force, it passes through atoms with no loss.
- The direction of light can be bent by gravity.
- A turning wheel its atoms are in constant acceleration. If your atoms are in that wheel (yea; not in the center) then you'll experience "artificial gravity". This is one of few reasons why the disc shape is so fit for space travel.
- The force is equal in all directions, not like magnetism that has poles.
- The speed of gravity seems to be equal to the speed of light.
The force of gravity that comes from mass is relatively small.
Two marbles which are made from an immense amount of atoms don't seem to attract each other. They do, but the force is weak. Two bowling balls, although many times bigger than a marble, don't attract each other noticeable either. You'll need an amount of mass as large as the earth to create a force of 1G at the surface of that ball shaped mass. The forces that keep molecules together in one thin string are already powerful enough to prevent a weigh of 1KG from going towards the ground. The Earth's gravitational field might not be strong relative to other forces, but a gravitational field can be very strong indeed. They think it can be so strong that atoms will collapse and light can't escape from it, as would be the case in a black hole.
Do the Sun and Earth attract each other, or is space pushing them together? Is the Earth turning around the sun, or is the space around the sun curved and the path the Earth's following kind of straight?
Gravity looks like a property of mass, but that could compare to my shadow being a property of me, which I don't find to be true (although I consider myself a holist..). The presence of mass in space seems to decrease the density of space. You know how a bar of soap can shoot away when you squeeze it.. kind of like that. In the narrow world I'm used to, things move from high to low pressure and rest in balance.
The question is if space is supporting the presence of gravity particles, or if gravity is a condition of space. I think number 2. Start with an empty space, then put a sun in it, that will influence the space and cause a gravitational field (and a shock wave at first!). Does that sound correct? Remove the sun and tadá; the gravitational field will slowly disappear (after of course yet another shock wave).
A gravitational field is in a way like a magnetic field as in its constant presence. The fields are not in motion, it is a static situation. The differences in the field don't flow until the forces are equal, like air would do. Moving a magnetic or gravitational field through space seems to be no problem though; no resistance.
To create an electric magnetic field, one needs to put energy in it, but also: as a magnetic field collapses, energy comes free. I imagine one has to put energy in space to create a gravitational field also, and that energy will come free when if the field collapses.
Is it possible, to create a force of gravity with the tools: electricity and magnetism?
That's the question here.
