Gravity and spacetime have a strange relationship. An astrophysicist explains why

Gravity and spacetime have a strange relationship. An astrophysicist explains why

More than 100 years on from the conception of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, it's still a challenge to wrap your head around.

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Published: October 7, 2024 at 2:00 pm

Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity says that the presence of mass warps or bends space (it actually warps the four-dimensional construct known as ‘space-time’). 


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Gravity is the force that objects experience due to that curvature of space-time. It’s strongest where space-time is most curved and vanishes where space-time is ‘flat’. 

The curvature influences how an object moves through space-time. 

So, it’s true to say that gravity both distorts space and (as a consequence) influences how objects move through it.

This article is an answer to the question (asked by Henry Parr, Frome) 'Does gravity distort space, move things through it, or both?'

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