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Q:
What type of Scientist studies Gravity and how might he/she study it
- Jeremiah Nelson (age 14)
Phoenix,AZ
A:
Jeremiah,
There are a few different types of physicists that study gravity.
Most of them work with a theory called General relativity invented by
Albert Einstein about 80 years ago. General relatvity says that objects
bend the space around them to cause gravity. Astrophysicists study
gravity a lot by looking at how stars interact with each other and by
looking at really dense objects (lots of mass in a not so big amount of
space) such as blackholes and neutron stars. Another type of physicist
called string theorists try to improve upon general relativity and come
up with a new theory of gravity. There are also physicists working on
gravitational wave detectors which is device which can detect gravity
interactions in space here on Earth.
Dan
(published on 10/22/2007)
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