Ask Ethan #61: How far does gravity reach?
Despite it’s reputation as an “infinite range” force, the realities of our Universe place a limit on its reach.
“In my dreams and visions, I seemed to see a line, and on the other side of that line were green fields, and lovely flowers, and beautiful white ladies, who stretched out their arms to me over the line, but I couldn’t reach them no-how. I always fell before I got to the line.” -Harriet Tubman
It’s the end of the week once again, which means we get to take a look at your reader submissions for Ask Ethan, and choose my favorite to share with you. This week’s entry comes from one of my readers who’s been following Starts With A Bang the longest (since my first few months of blogging way back in 2008): Frank Burdge. He asks the following head-scratcher:
If the Universe is not infinite, then what can be said about the range of the gravitational and electromagnetic forces?
This is actually an incredibly profound question, when you think about it. Consider what we know about the gravitational and electromagnetic forces, first off.
