CITATION — REFERENCE ENTRY
action-at-distance · britannica2026gr
- Citation
- britannica2026gr
- Claim ID
- action-at-distance
- Assertion
- Newton's theory of gravity requires instantaneous action at a distance, which conflicts with special relativity's requirement that no influence propagate faster than light.
- Quote
Newton's theory violates special relativity, for it requires an unspecified 'action at a distance' through which any two objects—such as the Sun and Earth—instantaneously pull each other, no matter how far apart.
- Quote language
- en
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