Posted by Christopher (208.143.232.66) on September 11, 2002 at 10:51:28:
In Reply to: Re: Depleting gravity posted by Scott Ellis on September 09, 2002 at 16:35:29:
Scott makes perfect sense, and I also believe that gravity would
not be "used up."
The biggest problem with this is that if somone built a "Bessler
wheel", and it worked, and gravity was not "used up", then we
would be "creating" energy (rotational transformed probably into
electrical) from "nothing." There would be no "energy" converted
from one form into another. Just as a river is not converted
(just temporarily diverted) as it turns a paddle wheel, gravity
would not be converted or used up to turn the Bessler wheel.
Einstein would turn over in his grave and the rest of the
scientific community would lynch you for being a smart ass.
: I think the answer to this question depends on what gravity is. And believe it or not, no one knows the answer to that question! It is hard to believe that we live in such a modern age, yet we have no clue about one of Nature's most fundamental forces.
: We can describe in perfect detail how a massive body will behave in a gravitational field, but we have no idea what the actual mechanism of gravity is... how gravitational force is transmitted through space.
: If gravity is really a "property of matter," which is the sleight of hand used by modern physicists to get around the mechanism problem, then it is conceivable (though still not guaranteed) that gravity could be "used up."
: If on the other hand, gravity is some sort of radiation pressure that pervades the universe, and actually pushes massive bodies into each other's shadows, then it can never be used up. In this case, gravitational force would be a renewable resource in the truest sense. This, by the way, is what I personally believe.
: -Scott
: : If someone was to get a Bessler wheel running, would it deplete the Earths gravity?