Toy models of gravitational shielding in the framework of Newtonian theory of gravitation.

In the framework of Newtonian theory of gravitation, three toy models of a hypothetical gravitational shield (GS) are developed. To satisfy the energy conservation law which is violated in the presence of GS, an existence of a special kind of energy ("G-energy") responsible for shielding and stored in GS is postulated. The models differ from each other by the details of the spatial dependence of the net gravitational acceleration in the presence of GS as well as by the dependence of that acceleration on the amount of G-energy in GS. As an example, the rotation of a dumbbell like object located at the boundary between the regions of space where gravity is affected and not affected by GS is analyzed in details. The motivation to study gravitational shielding, the very existence of which is challenged, is the presence of steadily repeating attempts to observe this phenomenon. No doubt, such attempts will continue in the future. The results obtained in the present paper could be useful in designing such a research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]