Why do things move in a straight line in space?

Things in space have inertia. That is, they travel in a straight line unless there is a force that makes them stop or change. Gravity is an important force that can change the course of bodies in space or pull them off of one course, or even cause them to crash together.

Why does everything in space move in orbits circles and not in straight lines?

The sun’s gravity pulls the planet toward the sun, which changes the straight line of direction into a curve. This keeps the planet moving in an orbit around the sun. Because of the sun’s gravitational pull, all the planets in our solar system orbit around it.

What happens when spacetime is curved?

In general relativity, spacetime is not ‘flat’ but is curved by the presence of massive bodies. The curvature of spacetime influences the motion of massive bodies within it; in turn, as massive bodies move in spacetime, the curvature changes and the geometry of spacetime is in constant evolution.

Do satellites orbit in a straight line?

Satellites move in a straight line, and only gravity bends their path (down – towards the surface).

Do all things move in a straight line?

A moving object will move infinitely and in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Why do things stay in orbit?

How Do Objects Stay in Orbit? An object in motion will stay in motion unless something pushes or pulls on it. An object’s momentum and the force of gravity have to be balanced for an orbit to happen. If the forward momentum of one object is too great, it will speed past and not enter into orbit.

Can Space-Time Warps be proven by experimentation and observation?

Gravity bends light Light travels through spacetime, which can be warped and curved—so light should dip and curve in the presence of massive objects. This effect is known as gravitational lensing GLOSSARY gravitational lensingThe bending of light caused by gravity .

Why are orbital paths curved?

The reason its orbit looks like a wave is because the orbit is 3-dimensional in nature, but when it’s projected on a 2-D Mercator map of the world, it flattens and appears distorted, so it looks like a sinusoidal wave.

Does light travel in straight lines in space?

Light rays too must follow geodesics in space-time. Again, the fact that space is curved means that light no longer appears to travel in straight lines in space, so general relativity predicts that gravitational fields should bend light.

How can space-time be curved?

In general relativity, space-time is curved, or “warped,” by the distribution of mass and energy in it. Bodies such as the earth are not made to move on curved orbits bv a force called gravity; instead they move in curved orbits because they follow the nearest thing to a straight path in a curved space, which is called a geodesic.

What does general relativity say about the shape of spacetime?

I omit indices and constants haha. So general relativity says how the spacetime is curved under the influence of matter. The second part of the story is that general relativity also says how matter moves in external geometry. It moves along “geodesics”, lines that are as straight as you can get.

How does matter move in general relativity?

The second part of the story is that general relativity also says how matter moves in external geometry. It moves along “geodesics”, lines that are as straight as you can get. This actually means that the objects move along the predicted, seemingly curved trajectories.