Is gravity a downward acting force??

(Source: Gravity Experiments For Kids)

Let firstly state the definition of Gravity: gravity, also called gravitation, in mechanics, the universal force of attraction acting between all matter. It is by far the weakest known force in nature and thus plays no role in determining the internal properties of everyday matter.

On Earth all bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which Earth’s mass exerts on them.

Pay close attention to the highlighted part of the definition, it is in the context of gravity or force of gravitation exerted on everything on earth (All living and non-living), But there is a slight mishap in this. Let me explain it with an example.

Consider an example, there are 2 individuals one individual standing on the north pole of earth he also is experiencing gravity just like everyone on this earth and as per the above definition the force of gravity is downwards in him, but if the other person is on the south pole that is on the exact opposite side of the first person, to that person the force of gravity should be upward w.r.t. to the first person as they are on the exact opposite side of each other, But that is not the practical case.

So is the definition of Gravity wrong, No We need to understand there are certain basic fundamentals to understand science and one of them is POINT OF REFERENCE (POR). Now if you practical look anywhere and observe you will see that the earth is flat, but is it ?, NO. Earth is of the shape called Geoid, which closely resembles both an ellipse and a sphere that means you can look only till a certain distance after which the curvature of the earth starts which is also known as the Horizon (Where the earth and sky appear to meet), Now if you have to explain gravity to someone the best possible way is to consider yourself as the point of reference and then the definition of gravity stated above stands completely true as you are experiencing a force downward.

So, now how can you define gravity ?, If you pay attention and read it is already given in the definition stated above, but you have to read what is in between the lines and understand what is not stated in the definition. Force of Gravity is nothing but a force of attraction towards earth (or earth’s core) which implies that the force of gravity is an inward acting force directing towards earth as a whole but as the scale of a human is incomparable to that of the earth as a celestial body the force experienced by any human appears to be downward as they are the point of reference in this case, of you change and consider the whole earth as the point of reference you’ll see that gravity is an inward acting force.

Because that is how a satellite revolves around earth as it is experiencing a force of attraction and that force acting inwards in direction of the earth.

So I hope you liked this, this was a very unusual topic and also something which people know but don't understand completely, if you like it then do share it with your friends, family, and people who you know shall be interested in topics like these.

[Reference]

[1] Definition of gravity - https://www.britannica.com/science/gravity-physics