What determines the gravity of a planet and can we use that information to manipulate gravity? That was the question I created for my assignment. If humanity could harness the power of gravity, it could have a propulsion breakthrough which means that we would no longer need to use thrusters for rockets.

Through GALE Engaged Learning, I discovered that gravity is determined by a planet’s size and mass. Everything has gravity, and the larger it is and the closer you are to it, the stronger it will feel. Currently, NASA deems the manipulation of gravity as speculation, which means that theories exist but without firm evidence. It is stated that gravity and electromagnetism are linked and that scientists are proficient at controlling electromagnetic phenomena.

We have much information on gravity and yet there are still questions. No one knows why gravity exists but we do know that it is caused by the curvature of space-time. Time dilation has been studied but is still not fully understood. The current status of gravity manipulation is sketchy at best. We have knowledge of gravity and similar phenomena (such as electromagnetism), but no concrete evidence of the possibility of controlling gravity.

Works cited:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “general relativity”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/general-relativity. Accessed 3 April 2023. 

“Gravitational field.” World of Physics, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CV2434500209/SCIC?u=43riss&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=9e0bbcad. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023. 

Dunbar, B. (n.d.). Status of Gravity Control. NASA. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/warp/gravstat.html