Mysteries of gravity force

2009/08/30 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Fisika

We jump and fall to the ground by gravity. Indeed. According to Newton, gravity acts on the movement of objects. But we don't know exactly how this phenomenon occurs. In fact, there have not yet been found particles, gravitons, theoretically planned, that could correspond to this interaction. They know the particles of force that hold atoms together.

Different from other forces

As with magnets, the strength that holds atoms together can attract or repel bodies based on their loads. That is, the poles of the same charge repel each other, while the poles of opposite charge attract. In the case of gravity, however, the same does not occur and its explanation is not very clear. To some extent it seems logical. And, as mentioned above, if the particles that produce this phenomenon are not known, it is difficult to know how they are and how they will act.

What scientists know is that gravity is very weak. However, although weak, it seems that this force is fundamental to live. Yes, at least, plants. The prestigious scientist Charles Darwin found that plants have gravity sensors. If you put a plant on one side of a vase you will see that its roots grow towards the center of the Earth. Without gravity, what would happen to those roots? Down, up, toward the center... they would grow in all directions. Something similar happens in both animals and humans. Experts have found that lack of severity can cause some problems. In space, for example, the lung capacity of astronauts is reduced by no gravity pushing the diaphragm down. In addition, to make the situation even worse, the liver is higher than normal, further reducing the size of the lungs.

We are used to seeing astronauts in spacecraft. This situation of weightlessness may not cause great damage to short trips into space, but what if we had to go into space for a long time? Are we able to cope with this situation? The idea of creating a shield of gravity is not new. Researchers from countries like Russia or Austria have conducted some trials. However, the results obtained so far have not borne great fruit. However, scientists continue to work. Think, Einstein was one of the first scientists to mix gravity with other theories of physics. In this sense, in 1916 he tried to explain more or less the origin of gravity. Not much progress has been made since then. They have not achieved successful results, as current scientists are no closer to that discovery than at that time. Therefore, although it is a known and often expert concept, it remains complex and mysterious.

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