The motivation comes from the following common observation. Blocks of stone with large dimensions (say of the order of three meters or larger) can be easily fractured into two pieces. First, cylindrical holes are introduced at top surface using drills. Second, fracture is initiated from the holes with the help of sledgehammers and wedges. Without any additional action, the crack will move with time downward other very large distance and separate the block of stone into two parts. The fracture surface is perfectly flat. What is the reason?
To our knowledge Gravitational forces have not been introduced in Fracture Mechanics previously. But these explain why large blocks of solids break into two parts without externally applied forces from experimenters. The present work, entitled " BRITTLE CRACKS IN A THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELASTIC HALF-SPACE UNDER THE RECTILINEAR CONTACT PRESSURE OF A CYLINDER: INTRODUCING GRAVITATIONAL FORCES " from Anongba (2023), introduces gravitational forces in Fracture Mechanics and explains that these are responsible for the failure over very large distances of blocks of stone.
Phenomena such as the Al Naslaa Rock, Active cracks in Yosemite National Park find explanation from gravitational forces.
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