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john_moscow | 8 months ago

Space exists around things with mass. Also, above-absolute-zero temperatures cause particles to jump around randomly.

Now if there is "more space" around particle A, particle B will have a slightly higher statistical chance of randomly jumping closer to it, than farther.

Rinse-repeat. Gravity as we know it.

discuss

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meindnoch|8 months ago

>Also, above-absolute-zero temperatures cause particles to jump around randomly.

Does it? A single free particle won't "jump around randomly". Thermal motion is plain Newtonian motion with an extremely high rate of collisions. There's nothing random about it (let's put quantum things aside for now).

AlexandrB|8 months ago

This made me think of Norton's Dome[1] and how a particle would choose a direction to move when warmed from absolute zero to above absolute zero. Though I guess, "warming" in this context would mean a collision with another particle and that would determine the initial direction?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton%27s_dome

bravesoul2|8 months ago

> particle B will have a slightly higher statistical chance of randomly jumping closer to it,

Why?

Also how do you explain acceleration due to gravity with that model. How do you explain solid objects?

MaxikCZ|8 months ago

My guess would be the answer is right in the part before you quote? If theres more "space" (imagining more space coordinates possible) for me on the left than on the right, me jumping to a random location would statistically move me left.

Repeating results in movement, getting closer to the object intensifies this effect, results in acceleration.

Solid objects are products of electric charge preventing atoms/particles from hitting each other, I dont think that has to have to do anything with gravity in this example?

strogonoff|8 months ago

If space existed around things with mass, then what would you call the emptiness that replaces space the further you go away from things with mass?

enriquto|8 months ago

Sounds fun!

Would this imply that cold objects have weaker gravity?

psittacus|8 months ago

Isn't this something we already know from the mass–energy equivalence? In the same way that a nuclear reaction that produces heat must cost the object mass (and therefore gravitational pull)

Quarrel|8 months ago

It does, but because you have to divide the energy change by c^2, it is really really hard to detect it, and mostly overwhelmed by other effects of the heating/cooling.

Woansdei|8 months ago

sounds more like the reverse to me, movement away from denser areas (less space), so like water leaking out of a container.