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Gravity and Gravitation

Gravitas and gravitatis

Gravity comes from Latin gravitas. This word means heaviness. It has been used to indicate weight of bodies on earth.
The Great Corrupter Newton took this word and gave it the meaning of attraction by Newtonian force. So for generations now it has been instilled in us that gravity is an attraction of the Newtonian kind.
Gravitation is a similar word. Sometimes Latin gravitatis is translated as gravitation to emphasize the Newtonian attraction. Or Einsteinian non-attraction. Yes, you are confused because Newtonian physics is a system of equivocation.
But in fact in Latin gravitas and gravitatis are not different words. Gravitatis is the genitive form of gravitas.
Is gravity an attraction as Newton claims. No. Because Newtonian attraction is a supernatural agent that does not exist in this world. Newtonian force exist only in the parallel universe called Newtonian Wonderland.

What is gravity

What we call gravity is restrained acceleration. It has nothing to do with Newton’s supernatural cause called force.
It is very difficult, almost impossible, to remove, Newtonian layers of sophistry from the concept of gravity.

What is the cause of gravity?

The cause of gravity is motion.
Gravity is acceleration.

The semantic history of weight and gravity

[chatgpt]

The word “gravity” initially meant “weight”, as far as I know. Can you trace how the meaning of “gravity” evolved from antiquity to modern times and General Relativity and “gravitation”.

The term “gravity” has its roots in the Latin word gravitas, which originally meant “weight” or “heaviness,” and by extension, “seriousness” or “dignity.” Its semantic evolution traces the history of scientific and philosophical thought about the nature of weight and the forces that act on physical bodies. Here’s a brief overview:

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Antiquity

Aristotle (4th century BCE): In ancient Greece, weight (baros) was thought to be an inherent property of objects that determined their natural place in the universe. Aristotle believed heavier objects naturally moved toward the center of the Earth, which he considered the center of the cosmos. This was not yet a concept of “gravity” as a force but a manifestation of natural motion.
Roman Thought: The Latin gravitas primarily meant “weight” or “heaviness.” Philosophical ideas about weight were largely inherited from Greek thought, with minimal innovation.

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Medieval Period

Scholastic Philosophy (12th–15th centuries): Christian scholars, influenced by Aristotle, viewed weight as an inherent tendency of objects to move toward their natural place. The term gravitas was used in translations and discussions of Aristotle’s works.
Buridan and Oresme (14th century): Medieval thinkers like Jean Buridan began challenging Aristotelian physics by suggesting that motion might be governed by external forces, laying groundwork for later ideas about inertia.

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Renaissance and Early Modern Period

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642): Galileo revolutionized the understanding of motion, showing experimentally that objects fall at the same rate regardless of their weight (in a vacuum). He didn’t use the term “gravity” in the modern sense but spoke of forces and acceleration.
Kepler (1571–1630): Johannes Kepler began to link celestial and terrestrial mechanics, suggesting that the Sun exerted some influence on planetary motion.

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Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution

Isaac Newton (1643–1727): The modern sense of “gravity” as a universal force emerges with Newton. In his Principia Mathematica (1687), he described gravity as a force of attraction between masses, extending infinitely and acting instantaneously. Newton retained the term “gravitas” for weight but used it in a more universal context. His law of universal gravitation mathematically explained the motions of celestial bodies and falling objects.
- Key shift: Gravity is no longer a property of an object but a force arising from the interaction of masses.

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19th Century: Towards Modern Physics

Einstein and General Relativity (20th century): Albert Einstein’s 1915 theory of General Relativity redefined gravity not as a force but as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy. The term “gravity” came to encompass this broader conceptualization of how mass and energy interact with the fabric of the universe. Gravitation refers to the phenomenon itself, while gravity often describes specific manifestations (e.g., Earth’s gravitational pull).

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Semantic Distinctions Today

Gravity vs. Gravitation: In modern usage, “gravity” often refers to the specific experience or effects of gravitational force (like on Earth), while “gravitation” denotes the general phenomenon of mass attracting mass.

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Summary of Evolution

Antiquity: Weight (heaviness) tied to natural motion.
Medieval Period: Weight still viewed as intrinsic to objects.
Renaissance: Experimentation challenges ancient ideas; forces and motion gain prominence.
Newton: Gravity as a universal force of attraction.
Einstein: Gravity as spacetime curvature, with a shift from force to geometry.

This evolution reflects the deepening understanding of physical phenomena, driven by empirical observation and theoretical refinement.