Free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source

In summary, the hypothetical particle of the graviton may exist, but it would be constrained by physical laws that prevent it from carrying information about tiny tidal effects.
  • #1
roineust
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Floating inside a closed spaceship, no windows, not knowing if I'm free falling near a gravity source or far away from any gravity source, are there any experiments that can be made, to determine if there is a gravity source near and if there is such an experiment, to determine the gravity source magnitude and direction?
 
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  • #2
roineust said:
Floating inside a closed spaceship, no windows, not knowing if I'm free falling near a gravity source or far away from any gravity source, are there any experiments that can be made, to determine if there is a gravity source near and if there is such an experiment, to determine the gravity source magnitude and direction?
Essentially, no. This is one aspect of the so-called equivalence principle.

That said, there may be tiny effects of tidal gravity that a sufficiently sensitive experiment could detect over a sufficiently short period of time.
 
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  • #3
The hypothetical particle of the graviton, is there a physical law, known already today, that even hypothetically, prevents it from carrying information about these tiny effects of tidal gravity?
 
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  • #4
roineust said:
The hypothetical particle of the graviton, is there a physical law, known already today, that even hypothetically, prevents it from carrying information about these tiny effects of tidal gravity?
If that question makes sense, then the answer is no. The graviton would simply be part of the mechanism by which gravity is calculated quantum mechnically. Those calculations would be expected to reproduce the effects of tidal gravity.
 
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The answer is no in general, because you are only sampling curvature at one event, or along one worldline if you repeat the experiment. It's like me telling you that I'm thinking of a function ##f(x)## for which ##f(0)=3## and asking you to deduce ##f##. Can't be done, because there are infinitely many lines that pass through ##(0,3)##.

If you impose additional constraints, such as "I am in a spacetime dominated by a single spherically symmetric mass" it's possible to estimate the mass and location from the tidal effects @PeroK mentions and how they change over time. In a loose sense, that's how we discovered the outer planets - by looking at the orbits of planets we could see and estimating where an extra planet would have to be to account for the difference between the modeled and actual positions of the planets. Note that it took careful analysis of years of observational records to do it. It's a kind of closed box, but it was very large in the timelike direction.
 
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FAQ: Free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source

What is free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source?

Free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source refers to the experience of weightlessness or zero gravity that occurs when an object is falling freely towards a larger object, such as a planet or star, in a closed environment.

How does free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source occur?

This phenomenon occurs because the force of gravity on an object in free fall is equal to the force of the object's inertia, resulting in a state of weightlessness.

Is free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source the same as being in outer space?

No, free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source is a specific scenario in which an object is falling towards a gravity source while in a closed environment. Being in outer space can involve a variety of different conditions and scenarios.

What are the potential effects of free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source on the human body?

The effects of free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source on the human body can include changes in blood flow, muscle atrophy, and bone density loss. However, these effects can be mitigated through regular exercise and proper nutrition.

Are there any practical applications for free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source?

Yes, free fall floating in a closed spaceship near a gravity source is used in training for astronauts and can also be used in certain types of scientific experiments. It can also provide insights into the effects of weightlessness on the human body, which is important for future space exploration and long-term space missions.

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