A Cause of Force of Gravity between Bodies

Abstract

An isolated electric charge, in the form of an indestructible spherical shell of radius a, has its straight and radial electric fields pulling the surface charge equally outwards, directed from the center, to maintain an equilibrium. Any imbalance in the field lines of force causes the charge to move, with acceleration, in the direction of the resultant force. The field lines of adjacent charges become curved to make for the force of repulsion or attraction. It is proposed that the electric field lines from a charge open out slightly, on encountering a like charge in space, thereby reducing the force of repulsion. The field lines close in slightly, against an unlike charge, to increase the force of attraction. Thus, there is a net force of attraction between two neutral bodies composed of equal numbers of positive and negative charges. For a neutral body, the strong electrical forces of repulsion and attraction, proportional to the magnitude of a charge, in accordance with Coulomb’s law, cancel out everywhere. The weak gravitational forces of attraction, proportional to the mass of a charge, which is also proportional to the square of magnitude of a charge, in accordance with Newton’s law, remain and add up. It is shown that gravity is a pulling force of attraction and an electrical property emanating from a body, not a result of curvature of empty space surrounding the body, as envisaged by the theory of general relativity.