How Fast Is Gravity?

[Balpin 12]

So gravity travels at the speed of light? We`re feeling the effects of the Andromeda Galaxy as it was 2 million years ago...?

 

To be honest, it is a question that I dont think has ever been asked.

[Guest sibon]

Gravity doesn't have a speed, it causes other things to speed up.

 

It is an interaction between two different bodies (eg the Sun and the Earth).

 

The size of the gravity is directly proportional to the size of the objects, the bigger they are the more gravity there is.

 

It also depends upon the distance between the objects. The further apart they are, the smaller the gravity.

[owlshihgreen 11]

E=MC2 should be in there somewhere?

[Balpin 12]

I was in the bath when I thought it up, it was my "Eureka" moment, or in my case, my "Bleedin `ell thats a good un!" moment!

 

You may be a genius you know, to complete this and gain the Nobel prize for Physics, all you need to do is tell us the answer.

[Jabberwocky 46]

Gravity doesn't have a speed, it causes other things to speed up.

 

It is an interaction between two different bodies (eg the Sun and the Earth).

 

The size of the gravity is directly proportional to the size of the objects, the bigger they are the more gravity there is.

 

It also depends upon the distance between the objects. The further apart they are, the smaller the gravity.

 

So... ok then... this is a killer isnt it? Ok.. so if gravity has a sort of... unit...then.. My frontal lobes are starting to melt here.... it causes things to speed up, ok thats fair enough, a black hole can make something travel at light speed for instance, but.. what if a black hole ever appeared in space nearby...? Would we get to see it before it started to drag us in? Or would we start moving towards it the very second it appeared...? Or,,, before it appeared...?

 

Im starting to confuse myself now

[Jabberwocky 46]

You may be a genius you know, to complete this and gain the Nobel prize for Physics, all you need to do is tell us the answer.

 

Im already classed as a genius by the chimps at Twycross zoo- I taught them to eat each others bogeys instead of their own!

[Jabberwocky 46]

It must have .... there has to be a time between an object and the force it asserts on something....

Its my fault, Im not wording it well enough and probably getting confusing.

[Balpin 12]

Gravity doesn't have a speed, it causes other things to speed up.

 

It is an interaction between two different bodies (eg the Sun and the Earth).

 

The size of the gravity is directly proportional to the size of the objects, the bigger they are the more gravity there is.

 

It also depends upon the distance between the objects. The further apart they are, the smaller the gravity.

 

So if a mass came into existense, instantaneously, of say 20 billion solar masses, its effects would be felt throughout the entire Universe imeadiatly, instantaneously?

 

Or would that effect take time to permeate the Universe?

[Karis 11]

Gravity is a universal and fundamental force that effects all of the universe. It, of itself, has no speed and cannot directly be measured (until we discover the 'graviton' particle).

 

However, the effects of gravity on one or more bodies can be directly measured and we can determine the gravitational constant with a handful of equations.

 

We are directly experiencing the gravitational effects of every part of the universe as it is today and not two million years ago (although the effects of gravity from two million years ago can set into motion events of today).

 

Gravity is not light and does not travel; rather, it's the effect is proportionate of the mass of two (or more) bodies.

 

Basically: everything in the universe interacts with everything else on a more or less profound level.

[Guest sibon]

The density of two objects, rather than size, isn't it?

 

You get small objects with massive gravity and vice versa.

 

Yes, I suppose so. It is the product of the two masses, multiplied by G and then divided by the square of the distance.

 

If my memory serves me well:D

[HeadingNorth 11]

There is no definitive, proven-correct answer. It is widely believed among scientists, but not proven, that the effects of gravity come about by the transfer of hypothetical particles called "gravitons," which have no mass themselves and therefore travel at the speed of light.

 

If this is true, then a black hole suddenly popping into existence a million miles away would begin to have an effect upon us after about six seconds. (The speed of light in a vacuum is about 186,000 miles a second.)

 

The hypothesis about gravitons suggests that they are incredibly weak particles and would be all but impossible to detect, even with machines vastly more powerful than the one we now have at CERN. That is, largely, why we can't prove one way or the other if they're right.

[Guest sibon]

So if a mass came into existense, instantaneously, of say 20 billion solar masses, its effects would be felt throughout the entire Universe imeadiatly, instantaneously?

 

Or would that effect take time to permeate the Universe?

 

That is a brilliant question.

 

I've no idea:D