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Single Idea 21236

[catalogued under 27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / d. Gravity]

Full Idea

Physics replaced the notion that bodies exert gravitational force on each other by the more effective picture that the bodies in the universe give rise to a pervasive gravitational field which exerts a force on each particle.

Gist of Idea

Instead of gravitational force, we now have a pervasive gravitational field

Source

Graham Farmelo (The Strangest Man [2009], 08)

A Reaction

This still uses the word 'force'. I sometimes get the impression that gravity is the curvature of space, but gravity needs more. Which direction along the curvature are particles attracted? The bottom line is the power of the bodies.

Book Reference

Farmelo,Graham: 'The Strangest Man [Paul Dirac]' [Faber 2009], p.116