Gravity is not a force. Well, not in general relativity. Instead, gravity is a consequence. This black hole here is warping space and time by physically altering it by its ridiculous mass. So, that would suggest that time is a physical thing. It is. So, gravity is the consequence of mass warping and shaping space-time.
You can watch the narrated version of the article.
In 1919, the Eddington Experiment proved that space and time are warped by the sun. In the experiment, Eddington used a total solar eclipse to measure the gravitational deflection of starlight passing near the Sun. The value of this deflection had been predicted by Albert Einstein in a 1911 paper and was one of the tests proposed for both his 1911 theory of special relativity and his 1915 theory of general relativity.
Following the return of the expeditions, the results were presented by Eddington to the Royal Society of London, and, after some deliberation, were accepted. Widespread newspaper coverage of the results led to worldwide fame for Einstein and his theories.
This 2-dimensional graphic is not so correct though but it does help grasp what is happening. A better graphic is this one, showing the bending of space and time, space-time, being warped, stretched, and shaped in 3 dimensions rather than just 2.
The warping of space-time isn't just in space, though, you're warping it right now here on Earth. It is everywhere. So, you're walking through space and time every day. Your head is older than your toes. What. This is simply because your head is slightly further away from the Earth, so the space-time around your head is weaker, and therefore time moves slightly quicker.
Something similar happened to twin brothers Astronaut Scott Kelly and his twin brother, Mark. Astronaut Scott Kelly was in space on the ISS for one year and his brother on Earth for one year. making Mark an even older brother. This is because the theory of special relativity holds that time moves more slowly for objects in motion compared to a stationary observer. Because Scott Kelly was on the ISS orbiting the Earth, he had more mass and therefore time went more slowly for him. This "time dilation" is most dramatic and noticeable at relativistic speeds, but the effects manifest even at the much lower velocities experienced by bodies in Earth orbit.
You might have seen this meme floating around on the internet regarding a mum and dad boarding a rocket and they come back and they see their son and daughter much older than them. This is basically the same thing that happened to the twin brothers but on a much a grander scale. The rocket the parents went on sped off at near the speed of light, allowing the mum and dad's time to pretty much stop, hence why they are still young.
In extreme events, space and time can form in waves. The LIGO detectors picked up signals of two black holes colliding causing the space-time to form waves like throwing a rock into a pond. Thanks for reading, I hope this has quenched your astro-esque mind.
