Cosmic catastrophe


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Cosmic catastrophe
The Cosmic catastrophe is a thought experiment in which the sun were to instantaneously disappear. The question is what would then happen to the earth and the other planets orbiting the sun. According to Isaac Newton's classical theory of gravity, the planets would immediately cease to move in circular motion, and due to inertia would start traveling in a straight line. Albert Einstein saw a deficiency in Newton's theory. Due to the finiteness of the speed of light, it would take a certain amount of time before the darkness from the sun's absence would reach the orbiting planet. Therefore, why would the planet instantaneously start traveling in a straight line before the arrival of information that the sun's disappearance has occurred.

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