The Core of the Apple

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The Core of the Apple

By William K. Vogeler

Newton’s Apple fell where the Earth used to be.

That’s because the Earth is moving along its path in the expansion of the universe [1]. Apples and other matter on the planet are moving along with it, but as they fall through space they are falling towards the place where the Earth was.

Indeed, the Earth orbits the Sun at about 66,660 miles per hour. So the Earth moved about 18 miles in the second Newton's Apple fell to the ground.

This observation has implications for general relativity [2]. In the cosmos, general relativity provides that massive bodies curve space and create the effect of gravity. This curvature of space and time is called spacetime [3].

In a solar system, for example, planets orbit their star by following the curvature of spacetime the star creates. The planets also curve spacetime, creating the effect of gravity on their moons.

But on a planet like Earth, general relativity must take into account the motion of the planet through space. This means that apples and other Earth-bound objects are not actually attracted to the Earth but to the curvature of spacetime that trails behind the planet as objects are in freefall.

It is a like a boat moving through water. The boat creates a wake, or turbulence, that affects anything that falls off the boat. Objects falling directly behind the boat get caught in the turbulence.

Likewise, objects on Earth are caught in the gravitational turbulence of the planet curving spacetime. This explains, in part, why an object on one side of the planet falls in opposition to an object falling on the other side of the planet. It is not due to gravity inherent in the mass of the objects or their individual curving of spacetime, but to the turbulence of the planet curving spacetime.

This effect may be observed on spacecraft entering the Earth’s atmosphere because time and gravity fluctuate due to the turbulent curvature of spacetime. Indeed, time and gravity change for any object in freefall around the planet. The effects are more apparent the farther the object falls.

But even objects at rest on the planet will appear to have different weights as the Earth rotates and proceeds in its orbit around the Sun. This is manifest, in part, by the variances in gravity around the globe [4].

The greatest weight should be measurable when the Earth is closest to the Sun and moving the fastest. This may be extrapolated from experiments measuring the warping of spacetime around the planet [5].

At its core, the Apple did not have gravity at all. It was just just moving through spacetime.

Copyright 2007 © William K. Vogeler

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