What is gravity? Scientists don't really know!

That is right folks, scientists today don't really have a clue as to what gravity really is. I refer you to the same incredible article over at the U.S. Department of Energy Reasearch News that I told you about in the last blog. Gravity is one of the big puzzles of science. You get enough matter together in one place and it exerts a gravitational field -- but why? Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity can not explain what is going on in the gravitational fields of huge black holes. I am not kidding. Check it out yourself:

http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2002-02/ddoe-1pq061502.php


Let me just quote a tiny bit of the relevant sentences from this amazing revelation:

"9. What is gravity?
Black holes are ubiquitous in the universe, and their intense gravity can be explored. The effects of strong gravity in the early universe have observable consequences. Einstein's theory should work as well in these situations as it does in the solar system. A complete theory of gravity should incorporate quantum effects—Einstein's theory of gravity does not—or explain why they are not relevant.
High energy and nuclear physics theorists study string theories and the possibility of extra spatial dimensions, which could help to explain quantum aspects of gravity. Experiments at high energy colliders like the Tevatron at Fermilab and LHC at CERN will be able to test some of these ideas in the next few years. String theories have already led to calculations of the entropy of black holes, a meeting place of quantum ideas and gravity."

One of the new string theories is that somehow matter warps the time/space contiuum around itself and this creates the illusion of gravity. Huh? I am just so happy that we can build energy colliders and test some theories of these quantum physicists, aren't you? Theories, mind you--not provable facts. Gravity has been around for thousands of years, and all we have are vague and unproved theories about it. Isn't that interesting!!

Maybe there is no such thing as gravity after all. We are held down to terra firma because (as in the words of my landlady) everything sucks.

So, what is gravity? I am sure I don't know either. But I am pretty happy about gravity and plan to go on using it!!

David

I am heavy because of DARK MATTER.

I just found this incredible report over at the United States Department of Energy Research News http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2002-02/ddoe-1pq061502.php that says that there are eleven questions that are bugging scientists today that have gone unanswered.

One of the questions is about dark matter--just what is it? I just have to quote one paragraph because although I have studied physics, I am not a physics major. And these few sentences open up vast areas of what I call "dark" knowledge -- knowledge I don't have right now, and perhaps never will. With that in mind, here goes:

"Astronomers have shown that the objects in the universe from galaxies a million times smaller than ours to the largest clusters of galaxies are held together by a form of matter that is not what we are made of and that gives off no light. This matter probably consists of one or more as-yet-undiscovered elementary particles, and aggregations of it produce the gravitational pull leading to the formation of galaxies and large-scale structures in the universe. At the same time these particles may be streaming through our Earth-bound laboratories."

Okay. Dark matter. Matter that is "not what we are made of, and gives off no light." And guess what--scientists don't have a clue exactly what this "dark matter" really is, or whether it even really exists. They are making this stuff up as they go along folks. It is creative imagination on steroids. Dark matter might be this, or it may be that. I just love the quote about "as-yet-undiscovered elementary particles."

Nobody knows for sure. But I think that dark matter is probably the reason that when I get on the scales I weigh too much. Yeah, that has got to be the answer. If it wasn't for the dark matter, I would not be fat. I would not be overweight. And so I am going on a light matter diet. Don't make light of what I am doing to be light now. The only thing is, I am not quite sure what a light matter diet is. But I'll bet it does not include light bulbs....

Okay, enough humor for one day. Being overweight is serious because heavy people get cancer many more times than people who are the ideal weight. They develop nearly all diseases at a faster rate, and they usually die a lot younger.

So even if scientists never do figure out their questions about dark matter, I still need to continue losing weight.

Don't weigh too much
David A. Youngs