What if there was no such thing as Gravity?

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you didn’t fall back down when you jump, or even when you throw a ball it went further up without coming back? In the real world, this is not the case. That is because there is an invisible force that pulls us towards the Earth, which we call gravity.

Gravity is the pull that objects with mass have towards each other. This increases as the mass of the objects increase and reduces as they move further away. That is why we can feel a gravitational pull on ourselves on Earth, but the astronauts in the International Space Station feel weightless. Even though there is some gravitational pull in outer space, it is small compared to what we feel here on the Earth’s surface and is less observable.

When talking about gravity, the main figure that comes into our minds is Sir Isaac Newton. If the apple that fell from the tree that day, did not actually fall down but went up or sideways, would Newton still explore the reason behind it? If it wasn’t for him, we might still be trying to figure out the science behind why objects fall down to Earth and not go up. On the other hand, physics would not be such complicated if there was no such thing as gravity.

Without gravity we would not need to run to school on days we are late. Instead, we could just fly through the sky right into our classrooms. This would be such an amazing experience for all of us. We would not hurt ourselves from falling or have to worry that other objects might fall onto us. Everyday items such as our school bags, kitchenware and furniture will be lightweight making them easier for us to handle. Meteors which enter our atmosphere and fall onto Earth due to Earth’s gravity will no longer be an issue for us.

However, if everything around us starts to float, it can also be a huge disaster. Our lunch might float away even before we had a single bite, our books, laptops, and tables will hover in the air bumping into each other, and we would not be able to do our daily tasks. On the next day of class, we might even have to give an excuse such as my assignment flew away. So, a world without gravity might not seem as exciting as we think.

Overall, gravity is what holds our Earth and the other planets in orbit around the sun. Without gravity, Earth would be thrown further away from the sun making it a much colder and darker place which would be uninhabitable for us humans.

In the end, assuming there will be no gravity is just a thought. Gravity has existed in the universe from its beginning and will be there for billions of years. So, let’s not worry about gravity leaving us and enjoy our life in this wonderful world which contains gravity.

Rtr. Thusali Kodikara

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