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If Earth suddenly lost its gravitational pull, we wouldn't simply float away – instead, we'd be carried away like fast-moving tumbleweeds, along with everything else around us. Tara Moore/Getty ImagesWhen someone is described as 'down to earth,' it means they are practical and humble, grounded in reality. It's akin to calling someone 'the salt of the earth,' or saying they have their 'head on their shoulders.' These expressions emphasize someone who is not lost in daydreams or impractical fantasies, but instead, someone who keeps their feet firmly planted in the real world.
In reality, it’s not humility that keeps us grounded – it’s gravity, the fundamental force pulling matter together. If Earth were to lose gravity for even a brief five seconds, life as we know it would come to an end.
Gravity pulls objects toward each other, with the force growing stronger based on mass. The larger an object, the more it attracts, and the closer you are, the stronger the pull. Earth is huge and near us, which is why gravity keeps us grounded and causes objects like feathers and textbooks to fall when released [source: Caltech].
The sun is vastly larger than Earth – over a million Earths could fit inside it. Its gravity holds our planet and the other planets in orbit, maintaining the cosmic dance around the fiery star [source: NASA].
Without gravity, everything would be weightless. If you've seen astronauts struggling to plant a flag on the moon, it's because the moon's gravity is much weaker than Earth's. The same happens when astronauts float in their spacecrafts: the farther they travel from Earth, the less its gravity pulls them down [source: Gannon].
If Earth were to lose gravity suddenly, we wouldn't just float away. Instead, we'd become like fast-moving tumbleweeds, as Earth's spinning would continue, but without gravity to hold things in place [source: Domanico].
A lack of gravity would stop Earth from pulling in air, water, and the atmosphere. This would lead to catastrophic effects, much like the devastation seen in a Michael Bay film. Air pressure would vanish quickly, damaging our inner ears instantly. Think of the intense pressure experienced when flying or diving—this would be much worse. Buildings would collapse as oxygen left the planet [source: Cote].
What would happen to H2O if you removed the O? Water would instantly turn into hydrogen gas, resulting in explosive reactions within every living cell. It would all be over in seconds, but by then, none of us would be around to witness it when gravity eventually returns [source: Cote].
