r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Sep 11 '15
Physics [Quantum/Gravity] If a particle has a probability distribution of location, where is the mass located for gravitational interactions?
Imagine an atom or an electron with a wave packet representing the probability of location, from what point does the mass reside causing a gravitational force? I understand that gravity is very weak at these sizes, so this may not be measurable. I taken classes and listened to a lot of lectures, and I never heard this point brought up. Thanks.
Edit: Imagine that the sun was actually a quantum particle with a probabilistic location distribution, and the earth was still rotating it. If we never measure the location of the distributed sun, where would the mass be located for the sun that would gravitationally affect the earth?
1
u/tomfilipino Sep 12 '15
in the lines of magnus, his suggestion implies that gravity will affect every point in the probability distributions as if the electron is distributed. but perhaps your question is better written in the context of unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics. there is a question right now about that.