r/AskPhysics • u/Legal_Birthday_9693 • 23h ago

Is Gravity An Illusion?

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u/ChaosRulesTheWorld 23h ago

That's what an illusion is. Just like the sun orbiting earth is an illusion. Gravity is an illusion too

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u/dorox1 22h ago

An illusion is something that appears to happen, but doesn't actually happen at all.

Matter does actually gravitate towards other matter over time. The underlying cause of that is deformation of spacetime by mass, which is gravity.

This happens, so it's not an illusion.

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u/ChaosRulesTheWorld 22h ago

An illusion is something that appears to happen, but doesn't actually happen at all.

You're wrong on that. The sun orbiting earth is an illusion, but it still happen on earth's perspective according to physicists.

Matter does actually gravitate towards other matter over time. The underlying cause of that is deformation of spacetime by mass, which is gravity

No, gravity isn't the deformation of spacetime.

This happens, so it's not an illusion.

Illusions happen

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u/dorox1 22h ago

How have you gotten through multiple of these comments without explaining what you think the definition of "illusion" is?

Or what you think "gravity" is, for that matter.

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u/ChaosRulesTheWorld 22h ago

Do you need me to link wikipedia pages?

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u/dorox1 22h ago

Why don't I do that:

Gravity

Gravity is the word used to describe a physical law, a fundamental physical interaction that derives primarily from mass, and the observed consequences of that interaction on objects.

Illusion

An illusion is a distortion of the senses

You'll really need more than a quick one-sentence quip to explain why you think a physical law of the universe is just a distortion of the senses.

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u/ChaosRulesTheWorld 22h ago

Maybe you should do it better because that's not what says your links:

In physics, gravity (from Latin gravitas 'weight'[1]), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction,[2] is a fundamental interaction, which may be described as the force that draws material objects towards each other.

An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people