What if there was no Gravity?

We know that gravity is a force of attraction between two bodies due to their masses. More the mass of a body, higher the gravitational force it exerts. Gravity is what keeps us on the ground (not letting us fly into space when we jump off the ground).

What happens without gravity in space?#

We have seen clips from the space station. Due to lack of gravity, astronauts are able to fly around the space station. How cool? On the downside, it causes them to lose muscle mass, if they come back to the earth they will be weaker. To maintain the musles they need to keep exercising regularly.

What if we didnt have gravity on earth?#

If we didn’t have gravity on earth, if someone jumped off the ground, there would be nothing to pull them down. They would keep moving in an upward motion and won’t stop. (They might crash into something in space and change trajectory) We would not be able to pour water into a glass, would need to make use of straws or sip from a bottle. Even if we somehow manage to pour water into the glass, it wont stay there. If the water won’t stay in the glass, it wont stay in the oceans or rivers or lakes either. So, no water on earth :(

water and air#

Before even we worry about the water flying away, we need to remember that earth’s atmosphere is also held by gravity, in absense of which air wont stay around the earth. The gaseous molecules will scatter around in the space. We doesn’t seem like life could sustain on earth if there was no gravity.

Would we even have stars and planets?#

Let’s look at what will happen to the celestial bodies - Moon was formed from a part of earth when it broke apart. Earth’s gravity kept it rotating until now. If gravity were to disappear, moon would no longer keep rotating around the earth. Earth won’t rotate around the sun.

The sun was formed from a nebula (like the other stars), which collapsed under the force of gravity to form the sun. without gravity, the nebula would never come together to form the sun or any other star. The earth (which is pretty much a rock in space due to lack of water or air) will never be held together, the earth would break apart and all the particles that constitute earth would start moving in a more random path, never coming together to form a single mass. So, planets won’t exist. At max we will have asteroid sized heavenly bodies which can be held together with a force other than gravity.