this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2025
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Science Memes

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submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

But will we feel the shift in gravity/inertia as the planet starts moving straight?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

This is the cutting-edge of my understanding so if I'm wrong somebody call me out, but I think because gravity is warping space-time and not actually pulling anything, we wouldn't feel an inertia change. Our inertia would be maintained, but the space-time we're going through would suddenly be shaped different, so we'd follow a new path

[–] mipadaitu 4 points 3 days ago

The part you're missing is that earth isn't a point in space. That's why there's tides caused by the sun (which are different than tides caused by the moon)

A person wouldn't feel the difference, but the tides would slosh back when the solar gravity stops effecting them.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So would all the other planets, so there'd be a non-zero chance we'd smack into one of them. Most likely though we'd become a very, very cold rogue planet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

How do you figure? Space is fucking huge. I don't see how any planets could collide.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

yes, after 8 minutes

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I know gravity moves at the speed of light. I'm just referring to the slight pull of the gravity and the sudden shift to traveling straight off instead of a circle.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

All of that will only happen after 8 minutes, see this comment.

Earth has a circular orbit because space-time is curved by the mass of the sun. (Think of a large bowling ball on a trampoline, you can make a small ball travel in circles around it, and if there was no friction, it would go on indefinitely.) When the sun's mass suddenly disappears (by pure magic, as this would violate many laws of physics), spacetime would flatten out, at the speed of light.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What part of "I know gravity travels at the speed of light" do you not understand, to make you think you're explaining something to me?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

the fact that you don't understand how the pull of gravity wouldn't disappear immediately

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Lol. You're a damned idiot. I'm not really sure you can "learn" basic reading comprehension, but maybe you'll manage it someday.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago

yes I am the idiot

[–] LovableSidekick 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I really doubt we would notice, because if so we would already be feeling different during day and night. The sun pulls us toward the sky during the daytime and toward the ground at night. Also toward the east at sunrise and the west at sunset. But none of this seems noticeable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

We are in "free fall" around the Sun so that's why we don't feel its pull of gravity.

You would similarly feel weightless if you were in an orbit around Earth.