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WHY GRAVITY IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS FORCES
Gravity And The Forces Of Nature
According to physicists, quantum particles are responsible for three forces of nature:
• Strong nuclear force.
• Weak nuclear force.
• Electromagnetic force.
The fourth force of nature, gravity, is till now assumed to not originate from quantum particles, but from the curves in the space-time continuum, according to the celebrated physician Albert Einstein.
From Curves To Strings
The ‘curves in space’ theory of gravity is falling out of favour due to the fact that Einstein’s equations seem to work on our solar system but begin to break when we apply the same near a black hole or back in time, during the initial big bang.
String Theory, which conceptualizes that gravity and all other forces are products of tiny vibrating strings, is the prime candidate to replace Einstein’s work.
General Relativity Theory
Einstein's General Theory Of Relativity provides a rock-solid description of gravity, black holes and even the Big Bang, but fails to explain the very ‘singularities’ that signal towards infinity.
The extraordinary force of gravity can be researched with new-age engineering experiments but there is a risk of pushing too far and risking extreme damage by accidentally creating a black hole.
Gravity Leads To Black Holes
The infinite weirdness of black holes makes it difficult for a physicist to combine gravity with quantum mechanics (QM).
The fact that gravity works on everything makes it difficult to construct an apparatus to measure the QM properties of gravity. This is because the measuring apparatus can itself collapse into a black hole if it is heavy, and would not be able to measure accurately if it is too light.
Quantum Gravity And The Degrees Of Freedom
Any proposed theory of quantum gravity would need to take care of the principles of locality, which state that any variable can change independently while measuring the properties of any point in space-time. These variables are called the degrees of freedom.
A worthy theory of quantum gravity has to minimize the degrees of freedom.
The Holographic Principle
"The number of degrees of freedom in a spatial region is proportional to its surface area instead of its volume” - Daniel Harlow, Quantum gravity theorist at MIT.
© SKB
According to physicists, quantum particles are responsible for three forces of nature:
• Strong nuclear force.
• Weak nuclear force.
• Electromagnetic force.
The fourth force of nature, gravity, is till now assumed to not originate from quantum particles, but from the curves in the space-time continuum, according to the celebrated physician Albert Einstein.
From Curves To Strings
The ‘curves in space’ theory of gravity is falling out of favour due to the fact that Einstein’s equations seem to work on our solar system but begin to break when we apply the same near a black hole or back in time, during the initial big bang.
String Theory, which conceptualizes that gravity and all other forces are products of tiny vibrating strings, is the prime candidate to replace Einstein’s work.
General Relativity Theory
Einstein's General Theory Of Relativity provides a rock-solid description of gravity, black holes and even the Big Bang, but fails to explain the very ‘singularities’ that signal towards infinity.
The extraordinary force of gravity can be researched with new-age engineering experiments but there is a risk of pushing too far and risking extreme damage by accidentally creating a black hole.
Gravity Leads To Black Holes
The infinite weirdness of black holes makes it difficult for a physicist to combine gravity with quantum mechanics (QM).
The fact that gravity works on everything makes it difficult to construct an apparatus to measure the QM properties of gravity. This is because the measuring apparatus can itself collapse into a black hole if it is heavy, and would not be able to measure accurately if it is too light.
Quantum Gravity And The Degrees Of Freedom
Any proposed theory of quantum gravity would need to take care of the principles of locality, which state that any variable can change independently while measuring the properties of any point in space-time. These variables are called the degrees of freedom.
A worthy theory of quantum gravity has to minimize the degrees of freedom.
The Holographic Principle
"The number of degrees of freedom in a spatial region is proportional to its surface area instead of its volume” - Daniel Harlow, Quantum gravity theorist at MIT.
© SKB
