Question

If suddenly the force of gravity of the sun stopped acting on the planets, in what kind of path would the planets move?

Answer 1

Each planet would instantly start moving away from the sun, at a constant speed and in a straight line, but NOT a straight line directly away from the sun. The straight line would start exactly where the planet is when gravity disappears, and its direction is TANGENT to the original orbit, continuing on in the direction the planet was moving when the sun's gravity shut off.