[Guest]

Okay, I can't find this ANYWHERE on the internet, but my dad did, and he told me about it. Some students at MIT found a 'flaw' in matter that causes the force of gravity. If said flaw was corrected, what do you think would happen? Can't believe I messed up title...

Edited July 22, 2010 by NickFleming

[MissKitten]

we would probably just float around in space, using other things to bump into or push off from.

Do we need to use spoilers?

[Izzy]

I wouldn't really consider it a "flaw". As far as I'm aware, the graviton has as of yet only been theorized so I'd be really intererested to know how such a conclusion was reached. If the constants that control our world were different.. all that means is that everything would be different.

...Black holes? Honestly, no idea.

[Guest]

Its not gravitons! The MIT people phrased it as a "flaw." And so the quotation marks. Remember, gravity keeps things on earth. So, would it just stay where it was in space, never moving, taking up that exact same space for all of eternity. I guess if someone corrects flaw they might want to tie the thing down.....

[Guest]

Isn't gravity what holds the Earth together? Then if gravity ended, all the gas on earth would diffuse into the space, though everything else would remain in place by inertia. But gravity also keeps the Earth and the other planets spinning around the sun, acting as a centripetal acceleration. If it suddenly disappeared, all the planets would be launched in a straigh line and eventually would bump into each other, collapsing in small particles, as everything that isn't held together by chemical bonds would be torn apart even by a small collision.

[Guest]

That would require us correcting the flaw in ALL of that matter. If we did that, we'd need A LOT of glue. I'm saying if we corrected flaw in one object. It wouldn't move with the earth, the galaxy, or even the universe. If space is a receptacle for matter, I guess it would stay in that exact same space forever. I know we could learn something from that, I'm just not sure what.

[Guest]

I see... I guess if we corrected the flaw for an object while this object is out of the earth's orbit, then it would be completely still, but it would appear to be moving really fast because of the universe's expansion. If the object was on Earth, it would be moving as fast as the Earth and spinning as fast as the Earth. Without gravity, it would be launched at roughly 108,000 km/h, give or take 1,600km/h. In either case, the object would eventually bump into some planet or asteroid and change it's speed/direction, like a pinball. Since it's not tied to anything, it could eventually leave the universe and enter another one, according to M-Theory. That could be interesting.

[Guest]

That makes sense to me: if there was no gravity we would not stay on the flaw.