- #1
Deeviant
- 285
- 0
According to the best current data available to cosmologists today, the universe is not only expanding, but the speed of which it does so is increasing. This is well-known but the cause for it is not.
There are many different theories, from dark matter and dark energy to ideas revolving around Enstien's Cosmological constant. But the most interesting theories to me are the ones that involve the property of gravity that allows it to be a repelling force rather then a attracting one.
This brings me to my question. According to GR, gravity's attractive force is caused by a bending of space. My understanding is unfortunely insufficient to determine whether this is a figurative or literal. Is space-time actually bending, or is this just an extraordinarily well manufactored analogy to something that our mind's can not grasp directly?
If it is space bending could we take it one step further and say that the bending of space has some sort of reaction, such as a recipical and opposite curvature outside the ring of gravities normal effect. And when I say "ring" of effect I am recalling the often used waterbed analogy to gravity in which one imagines a bowling ball placed on a waterbed, the curvature could be thought analgous to gravity.
When I imagine that analogy I can't help but to think about the parts of the water bed surface that are effected other then obvious depression created. Although the change in curvature in the areas outsite the ring are far less pronounced because they are spread out over greater area could these be responsible for gravity's repulsive force? Can one of those who are far more knowledgeable then myself here share some insight that could disprove or support these ideas?
There are many different theories, from dark matter and dark energy to ideas revolving around Enstien's Cosmological constant. But the most interesting theories to me are the ones that involve the property of gravity that allows it to be a repelling force rather then a attracting one.
This brings me to my question. According to GR, gravity's attractive force is caused by a bending of space. My understanding is unfortunely insufficient to determine whether this is a figurative or literal. Is space-time actually bending, or is this just an extraordinarily well manufactored analogy to something that our mind's can not grasp directly?
If it is space bending could we take it one step further and say that the bending of space has some sort of reaction, such as a recipical and opposite curvature outside the ring of gravities normal effect. And when I say "ring" of effect I am recalling the often used waterbed analogy to gravity in which one imagines a bowling ball placed on a waterbed, the curvature could be thought analgous to gravity.
When I imagine that analogy I can't help but to think about the parts of the water bed surface that are effected other then obvious depression created. Although the change in curvature in the areas outsite the ring are far less pronounced because they are spread out over greater area could these be responsible for gravity's repulsive force? Can one of those who are far more knowledgeable then myself here share some insight that could disprove or support these ideas?