Name: EG Young
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: Around 1999
Question:
It seems to be the case that as larger and larger scales are observed
more and more missing mass (dark matter) is need to balance understanding
with observation. This appears to result from the 1/rr law of Newtonian
gravity. We know that as scales become smaller Newtonian physics must
eventually be replaced by quantum mechanics; and that all theories fail
when tested against some extreme condition. What besides familiarity leads
to the 1/rr law being used for large scale study of the universe? Has
there been any serious consideration of possible alternatives to the 1/rr
law? Do general relativistic models, such as the DeSitter universe, make
a difference?
Replies:
A very simple answer is that 1/rr comes out of relativistic models
in a very natural way at large distances. I don't think that there
is any compelling reason to consider this as it would be a sort of
change in gravity as opposed to the distribution of mass. For
relativity the whole question is where is the mass distributed. From
that you can determine the fields.
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