Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Does the velocity of an object have any effect on it's gravity? If a black hole is moving very quickly will its gravitational effect on other objects be stronger than if it wasn't moving? Yes, but only at relativistic speeds.
Technically “relativistic mass” is just a shortcut, but a faster object gains kinetic energy, which affects the stress tensor (the real source of gravity in GR)—which increases the gravitation field, or the warping of spacetime around the moving object. This field increase is asymmetric so you can’t actually use the relativistic mass to calculate it, but I simplified the explanation.
Further Reading:
Section 2 of this paper from 1911 with a notable author: relativitybook.com/resources/Einstein_gravity.html
Pages 55-57 of this book by the same notable author: ibiblio.org/ebooks/Einstein/Einstein_Relativity.pdf
Frank Heile, Ph.D. Physics, Stanford University: quora.com/Relativity-physics-Does-relativistic-mass-have-gravity#:~:text=No%2C%20'relativistic'%20mass%20does,out%20over%20100%20years%20ago.
physics.stackexchange.com/questions/63961/does-relativistic-mass-have-weight
arxiv.org/PS_cache/gr-qc/pdf/9909/9909014v1.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_special_relativity#Relativistic_vs._rest_mass
https://lhc-machine-outreach.web.cern.ch/lhc-machine-outreach-faq.htm
physics.stackexchange.com/questions/95023/does-a-moving-object-curve-space-time-as-its-velocity-increases
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Does the velocity of an object have any effect on it's gravity? If a black hole is moving very quickly will its gravitational effect on other objects be stronger than if it wasn't moving? Yes, but only at relativistic speeds.
Technically “relativistic mass” is just a shortcut, but a faster object gains kinetic energy, which affects the stress tensor (the real source of gravity in GR)—which increases the gravitation field, or the warping of spacetime around the moving object. This field increase is asymmetric so you can’t actually use the relativistic mass to calculate it, but I simplified the explanation.
Further Reading:
Section 2 of this paper from 1911 with a notable author: relativitybook.com/resources/Einstein_gravity.html
Pages 55-57 of this book by the same notable author: ibiblio.org/ebooks/Einstein/Einstein_Relativity.pdf
Frank Heile, Ph.D. Physics, Stanford University: quora.com/Relativity-physics-Does-relativistic-mass-have-gravity#:~:text=No%2C%20'relativistic'%20mass%20does,out%20over%20100%20years%20ago.
physics.stackexchange.com/questions/63961/does-relativistic-mass-have-weight
arxiv.org/PS_cache/gr-qc/pdf/9909/9909014v1.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_special_relativity#Relativistic_vs._rest_mass
https://lhc-machine-outreach.web.cern.ch/lhc-machine-outreach-faq.htm
physics.stackexchange.com/questions/95023/does-a-moving-object-curve-space-time-as-its-velocity-increases
Join our patreon: Patreon.com/badastra
Follow us on other social media platforms:
Tiktok: BadAstraOfficial
Twitter: @BadAstraChannel
Instagram: bad_astra
Onlyfans: (just kidding)
