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Heck, I'm not even worried about the speed of a reaction. But remember that if I fall towards the earth, with a force, the earth has the same force exerted upon it in the opposite direction.

I was thinking, after reading a comment on a previous gravity question, that gravity should be propagated by particles (this would explain why you instantly feel gravity, its like entering a stream of particles). This would also explain why it would take time to feel a change in the gravitational field. If the change propagates at c, that would explain how similar gravitons are to light.

Anyway, if I absorb gravitons, why does the planet care? It acts as though it absorbed equal and opposite gravitons in terms of its resultant force experience. Do we state that a disturbance in the field is sensed, rather like a pressure buildup? I imagine in analogy a water buildup when I stand in the shower propagating backwards up the shower head. It seems as though disturbances in the field would explain it, implying virtual gravitons in an analogy to virtual photons perhaps. Feel free to ignore that if I'm mistreating the idea of virtual photons or whatever-I have heard them described as field disturbances though.

To further clarify, an analogy: suppose I am a rotating sprinkler at high frequency. As I throw down water all about me, a post in the garden "absorbs" the water I throw at it. I, however, do not react at all, just the water. However, according to what we observe, a planet reacts to a person's weight, and this in my perspective can only be answered if the planet "senses" when its gravitons have been absorbed and tries to fill in the gap, throwing in more gravitons than before. Since more gravitons are emitted forward, this would explain why the earth feels a forward push, given that gravitons carry negative energy. (Of course they have to have negative energy, otherwise when you get hit by one it would push you away).

This seems more like a fluid force if the fluid moves from regions of low to high density, filling in the gap from absorbant things, in this case all mass-containing objects.

Does this sound ok, or am I totally wrong on a point of importance?

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Anyway, if I absorb gravitons, why does the planet care? It acts as though it absorbed equal and opposite gravitons in terms of its resultant force experience.

Not only the planet is producing gravitons, so are you, albeit a lot less than a complete planet. The amount of gravitons is directly related to the mass of the object in question, so is the interaction between gravitons and the object. The more mass something has got, the more often a graviton will interact(by chance). And the more mass something has got, the more gravitons it spews out. Which should statistically give an equal and opposite force.

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  • $\begingroup$ The answer. Good one Appo113. I am forced to give the previous answer best answer since it was first. Also I completely missed his point, I owe him one. +1 good work $\endgroup$
    – Andres Salas
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:22
  • $\begingroup$ Talk about an overcomplicated method of explaining a phenomenon lol $\endgroup$
    – Andres Salas
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:37
  • $\begingroup$ @AndresSalas - you do not have to accept the first answer. You can take your time, and accept the best answer - where you and you alone are the arbiter of "best". So don't feel you are "forced to give" your little green check mark to anyone. $\endgroup$
    – Floris
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:49
  • $\begingroup$ @AndresSalas - as the author of the first answer, I concur. You won't hurt my feelings if you like Appo113's answer better :) $\endgroup$
    – DrEntropy
    Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 0:19
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You 'feel' gravity due to the gravitational field of everything around you. Near earth, the earth is the biggest source. You are also a source, and the earth is affected by your gravity. The law governing the strength of these fields is symmetric in that whatever force you feel from the earth's field, the same force is felt by the earth due to your field.

In your graviton picture, imagine you are also spraying out gravitons. This affects the earth.

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  • $\begingroup$ You fell into my trap. My gravitons do not exert the same force on the earth as the earth's gravitons do on me, or perhaps I could say the total number of gravitons is greater coming from the earth. I am pointing out that we create a Newtonian third law pair when just one graviton interaction is observed. Why though does the earth form the one half of this pair? Do you see where I'm coming from? In a particle view, why does the earth care that I'm absorbing its gravitons? $\endgroup$
    – Andres Salas
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:08
  • $\begingroup$ Actually, I am completely wrong, they do in fact exert equal forces. $\endgroup$
    – Andres Salas
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:23
  • $\begingroup$ Apologies there $\endgroup$
    – Andres Salas
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:24
  • $\begingroup$ You might "emit fewer gravitons", but there is a lot more earth to catch them... the net result (product of "gravitons emitted times matter to catch them") is the same. $\endgroup$
    – Floris
    Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 22:47

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