🌍 GRAVITATIONAL PULL
PAGE 1 OF 5, WHAT IS GRAVITY?
NEWTON'S GREAT INSIGHT
EVERY MASS ATTRACTS EVERY OTHER MASS
In 1687, Isaac Newton published one of the greatest ideas in the history of science. Every object with mass pulls every other object with mass toward it. The bigger the mass, the stronger the pull. The closer together, the stronger the pull. This invisible force is gravity. The same force that pulls an apple off a tree also keeps the Moon locked in orbit around Earth, and Earth in orbit around the Sun. It is universal, it works everywhere in the universe.
📐 NEWTON'S LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION
F = G × (m₁ × m₂) / r², Force increases with mass, decreases with distance squared
PULL!
GRAVITATIONAL FIELD
🌍 Field lines point toward centre
→ Stronger near the surface
→ Earth: 9.8 m/s² acceleration
→ Stronger near the surface
→ Earth: 9.8 m/s² acceleration
MASS vs WEIGHT
⚖️ Mass = amount of matter (constant)
🌕 Weight = mass × gravity (changes)
🚀 Moon weight = 1/6 of Earth weight
🌕 Weight = mass × gravity (changes)
🚀 Moon weight = 1/6 of Earth weight