A single atom has a shield and electron around it. The farther the shield, the weaker the attraction of electron. Can the same theory be applied to the solar system?

1 Answer
Aug 19, 2016

No. You can't build a shield against gravity.

Explanation:

Shielding of electromagnetic forces involves using opposing charges to diminish the force between a given charge and the object you're shielding. For instance, in a sodium atom the outer electron is attracted to a nucleus with 11 units of positive charge. But the other, inner electrons get in the way and tend to repel the outer electron, so the net force binding the outer electron to the nucleus is reduced. Only part of the nuclear charge "gets through" the gauntlet of opposing, intervening electrons to really attract the outer one.

Not so with gravity. There are no opposite masses. Everything you add to the system adds more mass and more gravitational attraction, even radiant energy (#E=mc^2#), so placing more stiff between two objects only results in more not less net attraction. This lack of a shielding property is a big difference between gravity and other fundamental forces.