Curved Space
Bodies such as the earth are not made to move on curved orbits bv a force called gravity.
Curved space. Curved spaces play an essential role in general relativity where gravity is often visualized as curved space. The only possible interpretation of the curving laser beam then is that the space inside the cabin is in some way curved. If we combine this concept with einstein s principle of equivalence then it would appear that light in the presence of gravity follows a curved trajectory or put in another way gravity bends the path of light.
Instead they move in curved orbits because they follow the nearest thing to a straight path in a curved space which is called a geodesic. Curved space often refers to a spatial geometry which is not flat where a flat space is described by euclidean geometry. Technically speaking a geodesic is defined as the shortest or longest path between two nearby points.
Curved spaces can generally be described by riemannian geometry though some simple cases can be described in other ways.