Can you help me understand how gravity works?
Can you help me understand how gravity works?
user
This is something that many humans have struggled with for centuries.  My understanding is that it’s an attractive force between large bodies of matter.  It holds the Earth in orbit around the Sun, and also provides the force that makes objects fall when they’re dropped.
assistant
Okay, does gravity also exist on other planets?
user
Gravity is a universal constant, which means that it’s the same everywhere in the Universe.  So yes, gravity exists on every planet and every body in the Universe, including the Moon and the Sun.
assistant
Wow. Could you mention a little about the history of gravity, from a human understanding?
user
I could tell you about the history of people’s ideas of how gravity works, but that’s a very broad topic.  For example, the first person to really figure out what gravity is, was Newton.  But Newton’s ideas of gravity were superseded by Einstein’s theory of relativity, which has been supported by experiments and observations, which shows that Einstein was right and Newton was wrong.  But it’s also a pretty complicated theory, so I don’t think I’d be able to give a satisfying explanation of it.  Instead, I’d be happy to give you some references to online articles or videos, if that would be helpful.
assistant
Okay. So just focusing on Newton and Einstein, could you mention how they differ?
user