Is space time linked for gravity?

[TakenItSeriously]

If space and time are linked for gravity, wouldn't that imply that the direction of a gravitational force emanating from a distant massive body is towards the past in time as well as towards some distant point in space?

 

Sorry, I meant to post this in the Relativity forum

Edited June 5, 2016 by TakenItSeriously

[Strange]

What we perceive as the force of gravity s caused by the changing curvature of space time. This curvature causes things (light as well as objects) to move towards a mass.

[TakenItSeriously]

What we perceive as the force of gravity s caused by the changing curvature of space time. This curvature causes things (light as well as objects) to move towards a mass.

I understand, but any mass we can observe is always located in our past light cone. So to say that gravity is causing our movement towards an object that is located in our past seems to imply that at least gravity is slowing our forward progress through time which we already know is true.

 

I was only wondering if that was the mechanism for gravitational time dilation.

Edited June 5, 2016 by TakenItSeriously

[Strange]

I understand, but any mass we can observe is always located in our past light cone.

 

 

The curvature is (in the simple case) static, so I don't see why that would be relevant.

 

This site provides an explanation of the maths in fairly easy to understand language: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/einstein/

[TakenItSeriously]

The curvature is (in the simple case) static, so I don't see why that would be relevant.

 

This site provides an explanation of the maths in fairly easy to understand language: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/einstein/

Thanks for the link, it looks like a great source for getting a basic grasp of the formalism which I lack.

 

However I think the confusion lies with the fact that curved space time tends to reference how space time curves locally, but since it's local, we tend to ignore the fact that time is curved as well unless dealing with black holes because, it's a small effect and it's difficult to conceptualize curved time.

 

What I was asking about is the effect on time that gravity has on us from distant objects such as other stars or even galaxies, and if that might relate to gravitational time dilation, but when I think about it in this context, it doesn't seem like it's related.

 

If we go back to the past light cone example, then the gravity from all those distant bodies would seem to more or less cancel out in terms of space as far as its impact on us since they surround us in every direction, but in terms of time, gravity can only reach us from the past and if space and time is linked for gravity than the accumulative drag on time seems like it should be significant.