According to general relativity,why does Earth orbit the Sun?
A)Earth orbits the Sun because the mysterious force that we call gravity holds Earth in orbit.
B)Earth is following the straightest path possible through spacetime,but this path happens to go around and around the Sun.
C)Earth orbits the Sun because Earth and Sun are connected by a "rope-like" set of invisible,subatomic particles.
D)Earth orbits the Sun because a spacetime diagram shows the Sun to be a bowl-shaped dip in a rubber sheet.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to general relativity, Earth is following the straightest possible path through spacetime, but since spacetime is curved by the mass of the Sun, this path ends up being a curved orbit around the Sun. This is sometimes referred to as the "geodesic" path of a massive object in curved spacetime. Therefore, the correct answer is B.

According to General Relativity,why Does Earth Orbit the Sun