When passing a star or a source of gravity, why should the gravity affect all speeds differently?

When passing a star why would you your direction change moor going 5 MPH verses 100? gravity is just space time bent so It seams to me like all speeds would take the same path as space but a curved path when observer.When passing a star or a source of gravity, why should the gravity affect all speeds differently?Think of it in terms of energy. Moving at a higher speed you of course have a higher kinetic energy. As you pass by the star what dictates whether you will escape its gravity or not is the amount of kinetic energy you have as you pass it by. The star "drains" the energy, or in some cases supplies energy, to you as you pass it. If your energy is completely depleted as you pass the star, then you will be sucked in by its gravity. So, the more kinetic energy, or velocity, you have to start with, the less your direction will be changed by the gravitational force.



Hope this helpsWhen passing a star or a source of gravity, why should the gravity affect all speeds differently?You need to look at it in the simple Newtonian sense before you can even begin to think of "curvature of space-time".





The reason why speed matters is that gravity DOESN'T directly constrain anything to a specific path.



Gravity APPLIES A FORCE, and that is all it does. That force only depends on position and masses. It doesn't depend on speeds.



The RESULTING ACCELERATION is determined by what that force is, and by the rest of the forces acting on the object, in a combination we call the net force.





NET FORCE causes acceleration, as per Newton's second law. It doesn't cause velocity, it causes the rate of change in velocity.



Pre-existing velocity REMAINS unless changed by a net force, as per Newton's first law.

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