Why do people refer to Gravity as a "Theory"?

Question

Gravity is not a theory, it's a natural law. So why do people refer to gravity as a theory?

Is it because they don't know the difference between natural laws and theories?

Or are they trying to diminish the factual basis and science behind gravity to make global warming look more real that it actually is?

Or is it another reason?

Answer 1

It's just retoric.

The notion that there is or ever will be enough AGW to measure is a highly speculative theory.

The notion that there is such a thing as Gravity is not a theory, we're as certain as we can be that there is gravity.  Exactly how it works is theoritical.

Comparing gravity to AGW if fairly pointless, unless as in the case of Dana, you are so delusional that you think AGW is more certain than gravity.

Answer 2

gravity is a threory,  infact, it even has issues.

why are the voyager probes velocities different from what newton and einstein would calculate?

there is some valid science saying that dark matter doesn't exist and that there is a minor flaw in our theory of gravity that accounts for the distortions in galaxy movements.  

so yes, gravity is a theory

Answer 3

I'm disappointed in you, Jello.

Gravity is both a theory and a natural law.

How gravity works is a theory. But noone will argue that gravity does exist.

Answer 4

they hope  that if they can form a large "consensus" that the theory of gravity is wrong. then it will no longer apply & we can all flap our arms & fly around like birds.

you obviously dont understand how the liberal mind works.

I wish I didnt!

there are no absolutes & reality can always be changed by a majority vote.

Answer 5

Well, you know we are in a dumbing down cycle don't you?   Just look at our education standings on the world scenes.

No one can be duped like a dumb public.  or left wing liberals, but then they are one in the same.

Answer 6

A "law" is a readily observable fact about something. It is something that is obvious and undeniable. Allow me to clear up a common misconception right now, laws are not a "higher" stage than theory, and no theory ever becomes a law. Laws are simple and obvious statements about a phenomenon that never require a second guess, or an experiment, to verify them [for example, there is a law that states that there exists an apparent attraction between all objects having positive mass...it's called the law of Gravity, and it's not just undeniable, but it's readily observable and demonstrable - by virtue of the simple fact that you are not floating about, but are anchored to the Earth].

Now, a "theory" is an advanced hypothesis. An hypothesis is a plausible, testable explanation of how a phenomenon works and/or why it works that way. Once an hypothesis has been tested repeatedly, under a variety of conditions, such that it is sufficient to convince a majority that the hypothesis is probably right ["right", in this context, means that it can be used successfully to make predictions as to how the phenomenon will behave if one conducts the same experiment(s) again], it can graduate to "theory", but it is still tested just as vigorously.

A theory can be "strong" or "weak", depending on the amount of evidence there is that agrees with it, the amount of accurate predictions it's made, and the amount of experiments that have been conducted and have concluded in its favor. However, it doesn't matter how strong a theory gets [you might think of such as examples as the theory of Evolution, Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, etc], it never becomes a law. That would run contrary to the definition of "law" as readily observable and nor requiring experimentation for verification. Also, a theory may always be disproved, but it must then be replaced with a better theory.

Answer 7

Left Wing??  George Bush is the right wings' fault.!  That's all I can say to that.   Good question.  It is obviously NOT a theory.

Answer 8

Man, JELLO comon, I know you are intelligent - I've been reading your stuff.

Einstein broke the traditional understanding of gravity and modern string theorists have taken the relativity principle and extended it such that "natural laws" are being redefined as I type this... as our knowledge grows.  

You know this!  I know you do - it's why I am so hard on you when I answer the same questions after you!

Answer 9

so explain to me how it works. therein lies the theoretical aspect. scientists are not gods, contrary to current confusion.

Answer 10

it is only a theory because everything is not fully understood about it

Answer 11

That masses exert a force on each other that is proportional to the product of their masses and the inverse square of the distance between their centers of gravity is a natural law.  Why masses do this is a theory.  Why you think this distinction is relevant to climate change is beyond me.  Are you working on material for a philosophy of science course for retards?

Answer 12

People? How about most science. I even found a link that has conservative site calling it a theory.

Why do you continually distort and use illogical arguments to try and debunk the GW in the world?

Pathetic attempt,,,,,, again.

Should have watched Frontline the other night and been schooled Doc.

Answer 13

The fact that items fall is a fact.  Gravitational theories attempt to explain why they fall.  Over the years, two main theories have been proposed.

Newtons Theory simply stated that the attraction between two masses is proportional to the quotient of their masses divided by the square of the distance separating them.  This simple theory works quite well for most applications.

Einstein's theory of relativity explains the attraction between two masses as an effect of the distortion in the space time continuum caused by the masses themselves.  This theory works even better than Newton's, but there are still a few areas that are not fully explained.

Newton's theory hypothesizes a force (gravity) Einstein's does not.  As Einstein's theory is the more generally accepted, the concept of gravity as a force is somewhat out dated.

Answer 14

You got to appreciate the cheeking replies. Attraction of two physical objects is not all about mass. You can have ionic and chemical bonds. One could say it takes both, it's that we are use to the grandiose(Macro) representation. Lots of educated people fail to see the obvious. Now that I think about it they have yet to figure out the complete O2 cycle. Or Isolating the product of CO2 + H2O. But hey! if they want to scream the world is coming to an end just tell me when.

Answer 15

It's a natural law huh?  So what causes it?  What exactly is it that's keeping you from flying off the face of the Earth right now?  Is it a 'graviton'?  What's a 'graviton'?  How do you know whatever is holding you down isn't suddenly going to reverse itself and force you upwards?

We can measure gravitational constants and forces, but we don't know what causes gravity.  That's why it's called the gravitational theory.

Kind of like how we can measure how much the planet is warming, but we don't know with complete certainty what's causing it.  In fact, the AGW theory is understood much better than the gravitational theory.

Answer 16

Wow, someone called "the master of science" apparently failed 3rd grade science when gravitational forces were explained.

I thought everyone knew what gravity was.  Looks like dana needs to hit the books instead of the bong.