gravity

grav·i·ty  (grv-t)

n.

1. Physics

a. The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending to draw them toward the center of the body.

b. The natural force of attraction between any two massive bodies, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

c. Gravitation.

2. Grave consequence; seriousness or importance: They are still quite unaware of the gravity of their problems.

3. Solemnity or dignity of manner.

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[French gravité, heaviness, from Old French, from Latin gravits, from gravis, heavy; see g^wer-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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gravity

Noun

pl -ties

1. Physics

a. the force that attracts bodies towards the centre of the earth, a moon, or any planet

b. same as gravitation

2. seriousness or importance: the gravity of the situation

3. seriousness or solemnity of appearance or behaviour: his priestly gravity [Latin gravitas weight]

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gravity  (grv-t)

The fundamental force of attraction that all objects with mass have for each other. Like the electromagnetic force, gravity has effectively infinite range and obeys the inverse-square law. At the atomic level, where masses are very small, the force of gravity is negligible, but for objects that have very large masses such as planets, stars, and galaxies, gravity is a predominant force, and it plays an important role in theories of the structure of the universe. Gravity is believed to be mediated by the graviton, although the graviton has yet to be isolated by experiment. Gravity is weaker than the strong force, the electromagnetic force, and the weak force. Also called gravitation. See more at accelerationrelativity

A Closer Look With his law of universal gravitation, Sir Isaac Newton described gravity as the mutual attraction between any two bodies in the universe. He developed an equation describing an instantaneous gravitational effect that any two objects, no matter how far apart or how small, exert on each other. These effects diminish as the distance between the objects gets larger and as the masses of the objects get smaller. His theory explained both the trajectory of a falling apple and the motion of the planetshitherto completely unconnected phenomenausing the same equations. Albert Einstein developed the first revision of these ideas. Einstein needed to extend his theory of Special Relativity to be able to understand cases in which bodies were subject to forces and acceleration, as in the case of gravity. According to Special Relativity, however, the instantaneous gravitational effects in Newton's theory would not be possible, for to act instantaneously, gravity would have to travel at infinite velocities, faster than the speed of light, the upper limit of velocity in Special Relativity. To overcome these inconsistencies, Einstein developed the theory of General Relativity, which connected gravity, mass, and acceleration in a new manner. Imagine, he said, an astronaut standing in a stationary rocket on the Earth. Because of the Earth's gravity, his feet are pressed against the rocket's floor with a force equal to his weight. Now imagine him in the same rocket, this time accelerating in outer space, far from any significant gravity. The accelerating rocket pushing against his feet creates a force indistinguishable from that of a gravitational field. Developing this principle of equivalence, Einstein showed that mass itself forms curves in space and time and that the effects of gravity are related to the trajectories taken by objectseven objects without mass, such as light. Whether gravity can be united with the other fundamental forces understood in quantum mechanics remains unclear.

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Gravity

See also physics.

baragnosis

Medicine. the absence of the power to recognize weight through the senses; the absence of barognosis.

barognosis

Medicine. the conscious perception of weight, especially through cutaneous and muscular nerves.

barology

Archaic. a branch of physics that studied weight and its relationship to gravity.

barophobia

an abnormal fear of gravity.

geotaxis

the movement of an organism in response to the force of gravity.

geotropism

Botany. the response of a plant to the force of gravity. — geotropic, adj.

Hutchinsonianism

the theories of the 18th-century Yorkshireman John Hutchinson, which included a rejection of Newton’s theory of gravitation. See also bible; theology. — Hutchinsonian, adj.

levity

a hypothetical force, opposed to gravity, once believed to be a property inherent in certain bodies or materials.

telekinesis

the production of motion in a body, apparently without the use of material force, a power long claimed by mediums and magicians. Also called teleportation. — telekinetic, adj.

tidology

the science or theory of tides.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	gravity - (physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface; "the more remote the body the less the gravity"; "the gravitation between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them"; "gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love"--Albert Einstein gravitation, gravitational attraction, gravitational force natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" attraction, attractive force - the force by which one object attracts another solar gravity - the gravity of the sun; "solar gravity creates extreme pressures and temperatures"
	2.	gravity - a manner that is serious and solemn graveness, soberness, sobriety, somberness, sombreness serious-mindedness, earnestness, seriousness, sincerity - the trait of being serious; "a lack of solemnity is not necessarily a lack of seriousness"- Robert Rice stodginess, stuffiness - dull and pompous gravity
	3.	gravity - a solemn and dignified feeling solemnity feeling - the experiencing of affective and emotional states; "she had a feeling of euphoria"; "he had terrible feelings of guilt"; "I disliked him and the feeling was mutual" earnestness, seriousness, sincerity - an earnest and sincere feeling levity - feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness

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gravity

noun 1. seriousness, importance, consequence, significance, urgency, severity, acuteness, moment, weightiness, momentousness, perilousness, hazardousness << OPPOSITE triviality

noun 2. solemnity, gloom, seriousness, gravitas, thoughtfulness, grimness << OPPOSITE frivolity

Translations

gravity [ˈgrævɪtɪ] n → gravedad f (= seriousness); seriedad f

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gravity [ˈgrævɪtɪ] n (Physics) → gravité f; pesanteur f (= seriousness); gravité, sérieux m

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gravity [ˈgrævɪtɪ] n → Schwerkraft f;

(seriousness) → Ernst m, Schwere f

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gravity [ˈgrævɪtɪ] n (all senses) → gravità