Help me and Alphafire out

[aaronstj]

Me and Alphafire are having a, erm, friendly discussion as to the definition of gravity.  Your opinion?

[Destro]

Gravity is defined in meters per second squared which is acceleration.  Force is mass x acceleration, i.e. your weight is a force and it differs according to the acceleration (gravity) on the Earth versus the Moon, Jupiter, et. al.

[Roadstergal]

Gravity is a force that causes an acceleration.

[Roadstergal]

For the laity.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/glossary.html

gravitational force: the weakest of the four fundamental forces of nature. Described by Newton's universal theory of gravity, and subsequently by Einstein's general relativity.

[Jake D]

I agree with RG.  But I'm a dim wit.

[Alphamazing]

YES. Gravitational force is a force. Gravity is different though. There IS gravitational force (gravitation) but gravity is an acceleration. There must be differentiations between these!

[Destro]

Even if she is wrong Jake you would agree with her   , get your bike running yet?

P.S. I believe she is right too, now that I think about it for a bit.

[Roadstergal]

YES. Gravitational force is a force. Gravity is different though. There IS gravitational force (gravitation) but gravity is an acceleration. There must be differentiations between these!

Gravity is shorthand for gravitational force.  It causes an acceleration when it acts on a mass.  In the absence of another mass, there's still gravity, even though there's no acceleration.  Weight is what we typically use as the name for the acceleration produced by gravity when it acts on a mass.

[aaronstj]

YES. Gravitational force is a force.

They're synonyms, dammit!

[Alphamazing]

No! Gravity is different from gravitational force...

That's it. I'm going to UT's physics department... I'm (hopefully) going to prove y'all wrong.

It is on.

[RVertigo]

[Roadstergal]

That's it. I'm going to UT's physics department... I'm (hopefully) going to prove y'all wrong.

Good luck.

Math minor who is dating a PhD in physics...

[Alphamazing]

I'm studying mechanical engineering. It's all about physics. But seriously. There is a difference between the two words.

[RVertigo]

[Roadstergal]

Print out the thread and take it with you...

[RVertigo]

[Roadstergal]

I had red hair in college, but not a pageboy.

[RVertigo]

Heh...

I'm still a total geek...  I don't just dress like it.

[Alphamazing]

Gravity and gravitation are different things. Gravity is an acceleration caused by gravitational force, but they are still seperate words defining two seperate things.

RG was right though, gravity is caused by gravitational force. However, gravity is an acceleration term, whereas the gravitational force (or gravitation) is a force unit.

[Jake D]

Even if she is wrong Jake you would agree with her   , get your bike running yet?

P.S. I believe she is right too, now that I think about it for a bit.

RG is a cutie, but I met a girl last night at Blonde that stole the show. Yeah, my bike runs, but the oil presure is still low.   :x

And Gravitational force is force.  Gravity, when used in the context of acceleration, is also called falling.

So you're on a space station.  Your muscles atrophy and you wonder why.  You say, is it due to the lack of gravity?  Your muscles didn't go away because there was no acceleration.  There is plenty of that.  But no gravity.

I am the king of the land.  Bring me your finest meats and cheeses!