Gravitational Theory

Gravity or gravitation is a natural phenomenon by which all things with mass are brought towards (or 'gravitate' towards) one another including stars, planets, galaxies and even light and sub-atomic particles. Gravity is responsible for the complexity in the universe, by creating spheres of hydrogen - where hydrogen fuses under pressure to form stars - and grouping them into galaxies. Without gravity, the universe would be an uncomplicated one, existing without thermal energy and composed only of equally spaced particles. On Earth, gravity gives weight to physical objects and causes the tides. Gravity has an infinite range, and it cannot be absorbed, transformed, or shielded against. Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of relativity (proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915) which describes gravity, not as a force, but as a consequence of the curvature of space-time caused by the uneven distribution of mass/energy; and resulting in time dilation, where time lapses more slowly in strong gravitation. However, for most applications, gravity is well approximated by Newton's law of universal gravitation, which postulates that gravity is a force where two bodies of mass are directly drawn (or 'attracted') to each other according to a mathematical relationship, where the attractive force is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This is considered to occur over an infinite range, such that all bodies (with mass) in the universe are drawn to each other no matter how far they are apart. This book describes the force of gravity and the various laws and theories used to model the gravitational force and is designed to be a reference and provide an overview of the topic and give the reader a structured knowledge to familiarize yourself with the topic at the most affordable price possible. The accuracy and knowledge is of an international viewpoint as the edited articles represent the inputs of many knowledgeable individuals and some of the most current knowledge on the topic, based on the date of publication.