Does speed affect the gravity of an object?

Answer 1

CertainlyGravity affects the speed of objects in free fall and the vertical component of ballistic objects following parabolic paths. The acceleration of gravity on Earth is 9.8 meters per second per second, or 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s2). That means that for every second of free fall, an object increases its speed by 9.8 meters per second. In other words, after one second, a falling object is going 9.8 m/s; after two seconds, it's going 19.6 m/s; and after three seconds, it's going 29.4 m/s, etc.

Parabolic motion is more complex, because it has a horizontal component, but the horizontal speed is unaffected by the acceleration of gravity because the force of gravity is orthogonal -- at right angles -- to horizontal motion. the higher an object the faster it moves.

Answer 2

The simple answer is no.

The gravitational acceleration force on Earth, at sea level can be approximated to 9.81m/s2. No matter the speed of an object this force is a constant one. As an object moves away from the earth, i.e. towards space, this force reduces, although can never truly be said to reach zero.

There is a point however between the earth and the moon where the gravitational forces (ie the pulls of the objects) are equal and so there is a sort of limbo, and if an object moves closer to either, the gravitational force will pull it towards that mass.

Now, "the gravity of an object" is an odd phrase, an object (say the Earth) does have a gravitational force (as does any object with mass) and it does have a speed - in fact it has three:

- it's rotational speed round it's own axis;

- it's rotational speed round our sun; and

- it's speed moving away from the centre in the universe.

But none of these will affect the gravitational force of the Earth if they were to change as the force that it felt between to objects (with masses M and m) is:

F=GMm/r2

Where r is the distance between the centre of the two objects.

It should be noted that as an object moves at a speed near (within 90% of) the speed of light, it does become more massive (ie 'gains' more mass) and so it's gravitational pull - or force - will become larger, according to the above equation.

Answer 3

Gravity itself is a force, so it does not increase its speed.

However, gravity will gradually increase the speed of objects which are freely falling (i.e. gravity accelerates objects). The only exception is when the object is encountering some kind of resistance or opposite force. A prime example would be air resistance. But in such cases an object is not truly free falling anyway.

Answer 4

Yes it can, for instance by deflection - that is, an object A with mass and velocity known travels by an object B. The path or trajectory of object A is deflected and the amount of the deflection will tell you the gravitational pull that the two objects exert on each other. What's being measured is the acceleration in a certain direction.

Conversely, knowing the gravitational pull of a body can be used to affect the velocity of another object. This is how, among others, the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes were accelerated out of the solar system without using their engines - by gravity "slingshots" around the outer planets. Interesting to note is that what energy the probes gained in the form of acceleration, the planet used for the slingshot lost.

Answer 5

Gravity affects the fabric of space-time. So both space and time will be distorted.

Answer 6

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