Einsteinian Physics..

So, after some thinking today... I had a thought...

What if Einstein wasn't 100% correct... Specifically, with his explanation of spacetime being the cause of gravity...

I haven't done research on this yet... as it just popped into my head and has been eating at me for about 2 hours now... but here's my line of thought:

For those that don't know, Einstein's theories were what got us to the concept of spacetime. Spacetime is a 4th dimension... usually explained by putting a bowling ball representing earth onto a sheet that is pulled tight..

The idea is that the bowling ball causes the sheet to sag... if you place a marble and start it rolling on the sheet, it will be drawn toward the bowling ball... thus... gravity...

I've always accepted this explaination, as it seems to make sense... but then By applying other scientific theories, it seemed to not work anymore...

Why are some things subject to gravitational pull, and others not...

We all know light is not exempt from gravitation... but on the same token... why is cosmic radiation and a few select other phenomenon unaffected by gravity... Since energy and mass are interchangeable... technically anything with energy has mass... and thus, should be subject to gravitational forces...

Using this theory of spacetime, it becomes necessary to enter "Dark Matter" (Einstein called it the Cosmological Constant) to balance both sides of the equation. This dark matter is not even universally accepted as existing...

According to Newtons laws, every action has an equal and opposite reaction... But, gravity exists wherever mass is present... As gravity could also be considered potential energy, shouldn't there be an opposite force? Theoretically, rigidly following Einsteins principals... Energy is translated into energy via E=MC^2... wouldn't this mean, the stronger the gravitational pull, the more energy would be present, therefor raising the mass of the object, and likewise, also raising the gravitational field in a self feeding feedback loop? What is keeping this system in check... or why would the potential energy in any gravitating body not cause an increase in mass?

Einstein has been the building block for much of the advanced physics used to develop theories as to how the universe itself works... Could these potential flaws in his theory be the reason Physicists can't bridge the gap between the theory of general relativity, and quantum theory? There's a disconnect in the world of the big stuff (the universe) and the world of the small stuff (quantum) that scientists have been working forever to try and reconcile...

Sorry if this seems in left field... But When you apply Occam's razor to some of the complex theories as to how the universe works... it just doesn't seem to add up...

Perhaps there are some flaws in Einstein's theories that make it necessary to invent exponentially complex solutions, to what may prove to be a very simple problem...

Any thoughts?

well i think the way you are thinking about potential energy and the mass of an object in the wrong way. . . try to think of it this way. . . mass is potential energy. . . for there to be mass energy has to be concentrated into particles that have mass the amount of energy stored in said particles is steady it doesnt increase or decrease (barring radiation; Thermal Dynamics conservation of energy blah blah blah) this is why E=mc2 because energy is neither created nor destroyed it can be in either form mass or energy but the amount of "stuff" is the same.

And as far as cosmic rays go they are affected by gravity but not as much as other more massive particles because they are sub-atomic. Photons and cosmic rays being either protons or helium nuclei or electrons do infact have slight mass. . . when you get to the point of energy in gamma rays and cosmic rays the line between wave/particle and particle starts to blur. So they all have a small ammount of mass and are therefore able to be affected by gravity.

reply to post by constantwonder


Thanks for the response! I can see the point about potential energy... but what of an object that is in a state of relative rest? suppose a bowling ball is floating in space... and another body moves within gravitational range... now gravity must exert enough force to break the inertia of the bowling ball...

Its late, and I might be wrong in my thinking... but something to me just doens't add up with all of this... and normally, I just took it for granted lol

Even waves/particles with the smallest amount of mass would be affected by gravity... even if only in the slightest....

however, these high energy particles stream effortlessly through space and matter alike without deviation from its course...

Man... physics at 3:30 am is ROUGH lol but I was sitting in bed... and couldn't reconcile all this in my head... so i figured I'd see if anyone on here could explain flaws in my logic lol