Transcript gravitationlecture

Universal Gravitation
On a sheet of paper, describe in your
own words:
GRAVITY
Gravity is a very complex concept. A
simplified definition:
Gravity is the way masses
communicate with each other.
Every mass in the universe reaches
out to attract every other one, and
every mass feels an attraction from
every other one.
Every mass in the universe reaches
out to attract every other one, and
every mass feels an attraction from
every other one.
Life’s ultimate love story.
The idea that gravity extends
throughout the universe is credited to
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).
The idea that gravity extends
throughout the universe is credited to
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).
The legend goes that Newton was
sitting under an apple tree, thinking
about forces, and an apple fell and
hit him on the head.
The legend goes that Newton was
sitting under an apple tree, thinking
about forces, and an apple fell and
hit him on the head.
The real story suggests flying
cats.
Newton stared at the moon in the
evenings and struggled to fully
understand why its path in the sky
was curved.
The legend goes that Newton was
sitting under an apple tree, thinking
about the moon, and an apple fell
and hit him on the head.
Hence, so the story goes, Newton
began applying the ideas of the
gravity he felt on earth to the bigger
objects in space.
Newton’s ideas of a universal
gravitation was the key ingredient to
confirming the Copernican theory
posed by Nicolaus Copernicus in
1543.
Falling Moon
Newton also had an understanding
that gravity was dependent on how
close the objects were to each other.
Newton worked for almost 20 years
on the gravitational relationship
between two objects.
Newton didn’t publish his work
because of his fear of ridicule and
criticism. In addition, he still was
uncertain about the validity of his
mathematical proof.
It wasn’t until the 17th century that
Newton unfolded the mysteries of a
mathematical process called
calculus.
It wasn’t until the 17th century that
Newton unfolded the mysteries of a
mathematical process called
calculus.
With calculus, he was able to
complete the proofs of his findings of
a universal gravitation.
With the strong urging from
astronomer Edmund Halley (16561742), Newton published his work
and it has been used ever since.
Hair competition: Halley vs. Newton
Newton
Halley