The Mystery of Gravity: An Exercise of the Imagination

This article discusses confusing aspects of the gravitational force, in particular how it can exert its influence when celestial bodies- supposedly attracted to one another according to Newtonian mathematics and Einstein's "warped fabric of space model" are not on the same plane, are traveling through space and time at a rapid pace and exist in a three-dimensional configuration.

Einstein's model of gravity held that objects are attracted to one another because space has a fabric-like quality that warps in proportion to the mass of celestial bodies. and that less massive, more proximal bodies essentially fall into that warp or indentation to create what is called gravitational attraction. Meanwhile, Newton's calculations demonstrated that gravity could be measured by factoring in the relative mass of bodies and the distance between them. More specifically he demonstrated that a more massive planet or star would attract a less massive one, and the gravitational pull would be determined both by how far one was from the other and by the difference in mass between the two objects.

Einstein relied initially on his superb imagination in developing the blue print for his physical explanation of gravity while working in a patent office in Switzerland. While his model has been proven accurate via observation, particularly regarding the tendency of space to warp and alter even the path of light, questions still can be asked about the underlying premise of his theory. Like Einstein this can be done through use of the imagination.