Gravity is the fundamental force that attracts objects with mass toward each other. Newton's law of universal gravitation shows that this force depends on the masses involved and the square of the distance between them. Gravity is always attractive and acts between all objects in the universe. It's what keeps us firmly planted on Earth's surface and governs the motion of celestial bodies.
If gravity suddenly disappeared, the immediate effects on Earth would be catastrophic. People, animals, and all objects would instantly become weightless and begin floating upward. Water would no longer flow downward but instead form spherical droplets floating in the air. The atmosphere, no longer held by Earth's gravitational pull, would begin escaping into space. Everything we take for granted about life on Earth would change in an instant.
Earth's atmosphere is held in place by gravitational attraction. The escape velocity formula shows the minimum speed needed for molecules to break free from Earth's gravity. When gravity disappears, atmospheric molecules are no longer bound and begin moving according to their kinetic energy. The atmosphere would rapidly expand and disperse into space, with lighter gases like hydrogen and helium escaping first, followed by heavier gases.
Orbital mechanics depends entirely on gravity providing the centripetal force needed for circular motion. Without gravity, Newton's first law takes over - objects in motion continue in straight lines. The Moon would fly away tangentially from its orbit, satellites would lose their paths and drift into space, and Earth itself would move in a straight line through the cosmos. The elegant dance of celestial mechanics would instantly collapse into linear trajectories.
The collapse would extend far beyond Earth. Our entire solar system would disintegrate as planets fly away from the Sun in straight lines. The asteroid belt would scatter into space. Even stars themselves would be affected - without gravity to balance the outward pressure from nuclear fusion, stars would expand dramatically or potentially explode. Galaxies would lose their spiral structure as stars drift apart. The organized cosmos we know would transform into a chaotic collection of objects moving through empty space.