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by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on November 21st, 2011
Help answer this question below.
Is there any doubt that terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth? Isn't this a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur whenever certain conditions exist or are met?
by Magenta
on December 28th, 2011
voted:
Other.
by skep
on December 28th, 2011
voted:
Other.
by Keysha on December 28th, 2011
by ErgoStep - Millionaire Websites on November 25th, 2011
That terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth, is a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur Yes?
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on November 21st, 2011
| 1 person likes this
If Gravity is but distortion of space/time what force causes objects to accelerate towards the distortion when seeking the shortest path?
by -O-uknow on December 26th, 2011
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How high up do you have to be to feel half the gravity from the earth?
by Ombliss22 on September 27th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
If there is no known particle related to gravity what is the nature of its existence?
by -O-uknow on December 25th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
If we were evolved in a 2 dimensional space between stratifications of air and land then why are we surprised our backs hurt constantly?
by Ombliss22 on October 3rd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
You're reading That terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth, is a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur Yes?
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Yes but terrestrial objects or objects on planet Earth do fall towards the center of the earth yes?
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 28th, 2011
Yes, but it is improperly phrased, as I explained.
The way you worded it creates the misconception that the Earth is the cause, and gravitational pull is the effect.
In reality, mass is the cause, and the Earth is just a very large and close mass.
by Magenta on December 28th, 2011
The Apollo 11 landed on the earth-side of the moon, meaning the lander "fell" away from the center of the earth.
by ErgoStep - Millionaire Websites on December 28th, 2011
@Magenta I'm sorry I used the scientific definition for the law of gravity in my question. If you don't like it take it up with the scientific community.
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@ErgoStep at the time the Apollo 11 was not a Terrestrial body.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 29th, 2011
John, you should be sorry that you did NOT use the scientific definition for the law of gravity in your question, and are instead getting snooty when people are repeatedly pointing out to you what the scientific law of gravity actually IS.
It has NOTHING to do with the planet Earth as a specific entity.
It has to do with Mass, and the Earth is just one Mass out of many.
If somewhere, in some archaic reference, you found a definition of Gravity that is limited to the Earth, that definition is wrong.
by Magenta on December 29th, 2011
John seems to be advocating a form of geocentrism. There are also people who believe the earth is flat. In all seriousness.
by ErgoStep - Millionaire Websites on December 29th, 2011
Gravity- the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth.
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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gravity?fromAsk=true&o=100074
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My question was a fusion of the literal definition of gravity and the definition of scientific law. Because some people were trying to maintain that gravity is a theory and not a law.
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Gravity as an observable phenomenon must be given in relatives, gravity in any other sense is theoretical. Hence the differance between the law of gravity and gravitational theory.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 30th, 2011
The key word is "terrestrial." Gravity is far broader than what that reference states.
by ErgoStep - Millionaire Websites on December 30th, 2011
Yes it is, that's not what I'm asking though. I'm asking if terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth. I might also ask if lunar bodies tend to fall towards the center of the moon, or if solar bodies tend to fall towards the center of the sun. The observable force of gravity is relative to what we may observe. The law deals with what happens, gravitational theory (which you seem to be stuck on) deals with why it happens. Do you see the difference?
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 30th, 2011
I'm going to jump ahead here:
For the sake of argument, I will answer your question within the scope of your wording:
YES, Gravity is a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur.
There is no doubt that terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth.
This is a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur whenever certain conditions exist or are met.
Just like Evolution.
Evolution is a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur.
We normally talk about Evolution within the context of BIology, but it is really a broader concept- there is a chain of cause and effect relationships, and that change effects everything in existence.
These occurrences build up over time- small changes become larger changes.
Rock formations are different in deserts than in rain forests, because of the different environmental factors that effect them. The longer they are in those environments, being shaped by different factors, the more extreme the differences.
And this process occurs with life forms as well. Those that cannot survive in the environment die, those that can survive live and produce offspring that share their characteristics, with minor differences.
Again, the ones best suited survive, and the ones least suited die.
If one population splits into two separate populations, each group will now experience different circumstances, different environments, different breeding pools, different changes.
So the populations, over time, change in different ways.
The minor diferences accumulate over time to be major differences.
The major differences can become so great that if you grab one member from each population and put them together with some candlelight and smooth jazz music, they will be unable to mate and produce fertile offspring.
We call this level of major differences a "Species".
Time goes on, and populations continue to separate, and they continue to change.
We not only have species, we have genuses, families, orders, classes, phyla, and kingdoms.
We have the huge diversity of life that exists on this planet, which can all be traced back to a single cell swimming in the primordial soup.
So, what was the point of your question, exactly?
by Magenta on December 30th, 2011
First off, Evolution does not fit the criteria to be a Law, that's why it isn't one.
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Second the point of my question was that I was tired of people trying to tell me that the Law of Gravity was not a Law. Nothing to do with Evolution, I'm not arguing evolution here.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 30th, 2011
No, it's because Biologists don't use the word "Law", Physicists do.
And Gravitational Theory is a Law, because the word Law and Theory are pretty much the same; A Law is not superior to a Theory.
http://science.kennesaw.edu/~rmatson/3380theory.html
In other words, Evolutionary Theory is as rock solid as the Law of Gravity; also known as the Theory of Gravity.
by Magenta on December 30th, 2011
There are Laws that relate to Biology for instance the Laws of Thermodynamics:
http://biology.about.com/od/biologydictionary/g/thermodynamics.htm
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A theory is not the same as a Law otherwise we wouldn't have the term Theory in Science at all. Science and math are not fields of study that like redundant terms.
There is a differance between Gravitational Theory and the Law of Gravity.
As I said before the Law of Gravity deals with what happens: things fall, objects are pulled towards one another. While Gravitational Theory deals with the less provable question of why it happens.
In science there is a hierarchy of certainness it looks a little like this:
Facts (those things we observe with our senses)
Laws (Phenomenon of nature proven to invariably occur when certain criteria are met)
Theory (a structure suggested by these laws devised to explain them in a scientifically rational manner.)
Hypothesis (a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena)
Idea (any notion a person might have)
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You see Laws are established by fact and Theory and Hypothesis are based on Law. And it takes a great deal of evidence for a hypothesis to become a theory. Where an idea doesn't need to hold to any criteria but has no persuasive weight of it's own.
Do you see the differance between a fact, a Law and a Theory in science? Yes generally theories don't become Law's because they describe why something happens and not what happens. But for that very reason they are a much less sure animal than a Law.
And for that reason it is quite folly to say that the theory of evolution or relativity are just as substantial as the law of gravity or entropy.
Go ahead and have a read up on the differances between Laws and Theories (you like google right?) you can start here:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 30th, 2011
I stopped talking to John after he told me that redshift was a myth.
by ErgoStep - Millionaire Websites on December 31st, 2011
I did not tell you Red Shift was a myth, I told you Red Shift was is not a testable method for determaning the age of the Universe. (And by the way you didn't stop talking to me then.)
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on December 31st, 2011
Quite so. I thought it inappropriate to mention your affinity for genocide.
by ErgoStep - Millionaire Websites on December 31st, 2011
Oh please do, when did I ever express an affinity for genocide? A link would be helpfull as well.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on January 1st, 2012