Why don't objects in Saturn's rings get pulled into the planet?
1 Answer
Objects in Saturn's rings don't get pulled into the planet because they are in orbit.
Explanation:
A moon is a body in orbit around a planet. The fact that it is in orbit means that it won't get pulled into the planet. In fact it is quite the opposite. Tidal effects tends to cause moons to move further away from the planet.
In the Newtonian gravity model, the force of gravity pulling the moon into the planet is balanced by the centripetal force pulling the moon away.
Einstein's General Relativity states that gravity is not a force, rather it is the effect of curved 4 dimensional space time. The mass of the planet curves spacetime. The moon follows a geodesic in spacetime which is the 4 dimensional equivalent of a straight line.
The objects from which Saturn's rings are composed are effectively all moons of Saturn. The rings and their component objects are in orbit.
So, the reason why objects of any size in Saturn's rings don't get pulled into the planet is because they are in orbit.
