Earth's gravity and the cosmological constant: a worked example

• Published in: European journal of physics Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 25602 - 25614
• Main Author: Pereira, J A M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.03.2016
• Subjects: Accessibility; Communities; Cosmological constant; Dark energy; Earth gravitation; gravitation; Kinetic energy; mechanics; Students; Universe
• ISSN: 0143-0807; 1361-6404
• DOI: 10.1088/0143-0807/37/2/025602

The cosmological constant regained the attention of the scientific community following the recent discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Consequently, interest in the subject increased amongst the public such that it now often appears in the classroom and popular science publications. The purpose of this article is to use basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics, like dynamics, kinetic energy and potential energy diagrams, in a scenario where the cosmological constant's action, considered as being an inertial force driven by the accelerated expansion of the Universe, could counteract Earth's gravity. The effect that the cosmological constant might have near the Earth's surface is discussed showing how everyday life would change. This is done in such a way that makes it accessible to students in their first year of college. Finally, the modern interpretation of the cosmological constant, associated with the existence of dark energy, is briefly discussed along with upper limit estimations for its value based on the anthropic principle.