How does gravity stay so weak compared with the other fundamental forces?
Quick Answer
Gravity is enormously weaker than electromagnetism at the particle level, but it dominates on large scales because mass is always additive and gravity is always attractive. Its weakness is one of physics’ biggest unsolved puzzles.
The Full Story
Gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental forces when compared between individual particles. For example, the electric repulsion between two protons is vastly stronger than their gravitational attraction. Yet gravity dominates planets, stars, and galaxies because it is always attractive and because large amounts of mass add together over huge distances. General relativity, published by Albert Einstein in 1915, describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime rather than a conventional force. Physicists still do not know why gravity is so much weaker than the other forces, and that question connects to ideas like extra dimensions and quantum gravity.
Key Facts
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"The weakest force in nature runs the cosmos."
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