h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thems fightin words!!

Gravity still scares me. I read an article that said that gravity may leak in from another dimension, what with it being so weak compared to other forces.

In reply to Count Zero: What does that mean?

As I remember it (and I may have forgotten some of it, it was years ago that I read it)... that gravity apparantly works instantly throughout the universe... there isn't any spead of gravity.

I'll have to dig that book up again.

The funny thing about gravity is the particle thing (so I understand)

For the other 3 forces there are both attractive and repulsive forces but for gravity (so far) there is only attractive.

The exchange particle for gravity is called the graviton.

My lecturer at Uni (12 years ago) said that if you want to win the Nobel prize for physics then find evidence for gravitational waves. People are trying but haven't found them yet.

But... I may remain uninformed until I become enlightened.

and I hope I don't sound stupid.

So one has to wonder is it a force at all?

Never thought of that.

Lateral thinking babes. Well done.

Well, knowing just enough physics to make an ass of myself, I saw a program that described it as this. Gravity is actually a weak force as far as we can feel (we can escape it any number of ways, including jumping!). String and brane theory has led to the supposition that it is actually an incredibly strong force that seems weak because it is acting between branes and/or universes. At least that's what I got out of it, and that's useless to me since all I'll use the information for is to try and impress females at holiday parties. Until I meet someone who actually knows what I'm trying to talk about and et voila! an ass I become!

Great example, I was at a university types party years ago and said to someone *You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see blah, blah, blah.* and one of the people I was talking to said *Well actually, I AM a rocket scientist and you're wrong!* Cue embarassed laughter.....

And there I was thinking gravity was mostly related to mass.

>>that's useless to me since all I'll use the information for is to try and impress females at holiday parties

That sounds pretty useful to me. Or it would be if it worked.

There was a documentary on Channel 4 that said that gravity may be shared over several dimensions. They think it may be possible one day to communicate with the other dimensions using gravity.

Regarding rhetorical questions: my boss used to say "I have got some rhetorical questions for you to answer". Surely in that case they are not rhetorical but just questions? A rhetorical question isn't a question but just a statement phrased as a question. I think.

A rhetorical question is one to which the answer is so obvious that no answer is required, and the person posing the question does not expect an answer. Examples are: Was I cross? Is the Pope a Catholic? Are we ready?

Spinks, does your boss have pointy hair?

Is the bear a catholic? Does the Pope.....etc etc

Funnily enough not a hair on his head.

Don't forget.
Gravity never sleeps.

According to http://www.googlism.com

gravity...

is missing
is a lie
is a myth

Hey, I like that googlism. Searching for "gnomon" I find:

"gnomon is densely packed with information and concepts foreign to all but the professional mathematician"

I like this one: yo-yos were used as weapons by warriors in the Philippines in the 16th century...

This is fun!

guns are used by Americans in Iraq in the 21st century

How does this qualify as a useless fact?