Gravity attracts because it's a fundamental property of matter; essentially, all matter is drawn to all other matter.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
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Inherent Property of Matter: Gravity isn't something caused by another force; it's an inherent characteristic of anything that has mass or energy. It's part of the fabric of the universe.
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Mutual Attraction: Every object with mass attracts every other object with mass. This attraction is mutual – you're attracted to the Earth, and the Earth is attracted to you. However, because the Earth has vastly more mass, its pull on you is much more noticeable.
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Mass and Distance: The strength of the gravitational force depends on two things:
- Mass: The more massive the objects, the stronger the gravitational force between them.
- Distance: The closer the objects, the stronger the gravitational force. This relationship follows an inverse square law; double the distance and the force is reduced to one-quarter.
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Always Attractive: Unlike electromagnetic forces, which can be both attractive and repulsive, gravity is always attractive. There's no such thing as "negative mass" that would cause gravitational repulsion.
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Simplified Analogy: Imagine a trampoline. When you place a bowling ball on it, it creates a dip. If you then roll a marble nearby, it will curve towards the bowling ball because of the dip in the trampoline. In this analogy, mass (the bowling ball) warps spacetime (the trampoline), and other objects (the marble) follow the curves created by this warping. Although not a perfect comparison, it provides an intuitive sense of how mass can influence the motion of other objects.
In summary, gravity attracts because it's a fundamental property of matter where all mass is attracted to all other mass. The strength of this attraction is directly proportional to the masses involved and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
