# Did you die when the earth lost gravity on 8-12-2026? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 12, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315 "2026-08-12T18:27:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/101 "2026-08-15T01:15:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eh, electromagnetic waves are the quantum wave function of the photon. By the same token, if the graviton exists, then gravitational waves are their quantum wave function. To my understanding, Einstein predicted gravitational waves but was never a fan of quantum physics (“God doesn’t place dice”, etc). The warping of spacetime by gravity is a **classical** (i.e.- non-quantum) phenomenon and the ripples therein due to the collisions of massive objects can be described by general relativity without having to resort to quantum phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/102 "2026-08-15T01:37:24Z")
Sure, and you can describe photons classically, too. Until you can’t. Granted, the conditions where you can’t treat light classically are a lot easier to produce in the laboratory. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/103 "2026-08-15T17:50:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > To my understanding, Einstein predicted gravitational waves but was never a fan of quantum physics (“God doesn’t place dice”, etc). The warping of spacetime by gravity is a **classical** (i.e.- non-quantum) phenomenon and the ripples therein due to the collisions of massive objects can be described by general relativity without having to resort to quantum phenomena. Which is to say, at that point the collision kind of renders it moot whether the gravity from the object is still pulling you towards it. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/104 "2026-08-15T18:22:23Z")
I hate when that happens. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/105 "2026-08-16T04:20:35Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I’d make a joke about gravity, but it wouldn’t have any impact. That didn’t land very well. When I was an undergrad student, there was a sticker on one of the physic labs door reading “Gravity, it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/106 "2026-08-16T13:20:39Z")
I died after each of my Covid shots. But I got better. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/107 "2026-08-16T14:52:41Z")
I think what’s missing here is that gravitational waves are typically produced by rather distant objects. So in the hypothetical event of two gravitational waves cancelling each other out, that would nullify the gravitational attraction of those very distant sources, which while not exactly zero may as well be given the relative magnitude of the gravitational attraction of much nearer objects like, for example, the earth. It would be like if you positioned two loudspeakers to exactly cancel each other out, but they are a half mile away and you’re standing right next to the subwoofer at a nightclub. Sure, you now can’t hear those two distant loudspeakers, but you’re not going to notice that and you can certainly still hear the band. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/108 "2026-08-16T15:43:03Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I think what’s missing here is that gravitational waves are typically produced by rather distant objects. So in the hypothetical event of two gravitational waves cancelling each other out, that would nullify the gravitational attraction of those very distant sources, which while not exactly zero may as well be given the relative magnitude of the gravitational attraction of much nearer objects like, for example, the earth. Not even that. For any source of gravitational waves, at any distance, the attraction towards that object will always be much greater than any forces due to the gravitational waves. Attraction is due to the static monopole moment of an object. Gravitational waves are due to the variation in time of the quadrupole moment of the system. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/109 "2026-08-16T17:01:34Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > I loved Mafalda as a child I still love Mafalda, and I still have the old strips. Well, 7 out of 10 remain. Back to topic: we are fortunate this board is in English, if it were in **[French](https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/gravide)** we would all be pregnant by now. And I am male! That would be **[embarrassing](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embarazo_humano)**. > [@Chronos](#): > > The question, such as it is, is just whether gravitational waves can be quantized. That is also why, should gravity ever be quantized, it will not be by a French. Because you are either pregnant, or you are not. There is no superposition there, no probability distribution, no Schrödinger, not even a bouncing dead cat. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/110 "2026-08-16T17:14:07Z")
I got better. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/111 "2026-08-16T19:19:45Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I still love Mafalda, and I still have the old strips. Well, 7 out of 10 remain. Welll of course I still love Mafalda too, but it started when I was a child. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Because you are either pregnant, or you are not. Are you telling me a person cannot be a little bit pregnant? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/112 "2026-08-16T19:22:31Z")
Nope. Not even a woman can do that. Whatever twinkles in her SO’s eye. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/113 "2026-08-16T20:17:45Z")
@chronos and @Gorsnak are leaving out the previously well researched theory by @steronz , that we overlooked a _local body phenomenon_ that compensated for the scenario. Specifically, the oft-cited “Yo Momma” Theory. [bringing back the silly!] ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/114 "2026-08-16T23:15:05Z")
Was anyone born during those seconds? Did that make it easier or harder? ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/115 "2026-08-17T02:32:19Z")
I didn’t die, but one of my neighbors works for NASA…so maybe that is why I was spared. Unfortunately, my scale was also unaffected and it says I weigh the same as I did a week ago 😒 `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/116 "2026-08-17T06:20:38Z")
It’d make it harder for the doc to drop the slippery squirmy baby. So safer for baby. OTOH, maybe the baby would drift up to the ceiling and be hard to retrieve. At least for a few seconds. Some day there will be childbirth on a spaceship. That’ll be … messy. Unless they put sick bay in the rotating part. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/117 "2026-08-17T06:39:10Z")
As I recall, in one of Heinlein’s stories, a childbirth on a spaceship was assisted by increasing the ship’s acceleration at the critical moment (or maybe it was artificial gravity; I don’t remember for sure). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315/118 "2026-08-17T12:54:58Z")
I’m pretty sure that that was Lazarus Long, with one hand on the engine controls. Might have been The Tale of the Twins who Weren’t, from Time Enough for Love. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-die-when-the-earth-lost-gravity-on-8-12-2026/1032315.md?page=5)