Gravity is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center. The force of gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun. Gravity is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things that have mass. People have known about gravity for thousands of years. After all, they constantly experienced gravity in their daily lives. They knew that things always fall toward the ground. However, it wasn't until the late 1600s that Sir Isaac Newton developed his law of gravity. Newton was the first one to suggest that gravity is universal, that... Show more Gravity is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center. The force of gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun. Gravity is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things that have mass. People have known about gravity for thousands of years. After all, they constantly experienced gravity in their daily lives. They knew that things always fall toward the ground. However, it wasn't until the late 1600s that Sir Isaac Newton developed his law of gravity. Newton was the first one to suggest that gravity is universal, that all objects in the universe are attracted to each other. That's why Newton's law of gravity is called the law of universal gravitation. Newton's law also states that more massive objects and objects that are closer together have a greater force of attraction. Newton's law of gravity can predict the motion of most but not all objects. In the early 1900s, Albert Einstein came up with a theory of gravity that is better at predicting how all objects move. Einstein showed mathematically that gravity is not really a force in the sense that Newton thought. Instead, gravity is a result of the warping, or curving, of space and time. Imagine a bowling ball pressing down on a trampoline. The surface of the trampoline would curve downward instead of being flat. Einstein theorized that Earth and other massive objects affect space and time around them in a similar way. According to Einstein, objects curve toward one another because of the curves in space and time, not because they are pulling on each other with a force of attraction as Newton thought. Show less
Gravity is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center. The force of gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun. Gravity is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things that have mass.
People have known about gravity for thousands of years. After all, they constantly experienced gravity in their daily lives. They knew that things always fall toward the ground. However, it wasn't until the late 1600s that Sir Isaac Newton developed his law of gravity. Newton was the first one to suggest that gravity is universal, that all objects in the universe are attracted to each other. That's why Newton's law of gravity is called the law of universal gravitation. Newton's law also states that more massive objects and objects that are closer together have a greater force of attraction. Newton's law of gravity can predict the motion of most but not all objects. In the early 1900s, Albert Einstein came up with a theory of gravity that is better at predicting how all objects move. Einstein showed mathematically that gravity is not really a force in the sense that Newton thought. Instead, gravity is a result of the warping, or curving, of space and time.
Imagine a bowling ball pressing down on a trampoline. The surface of the trampoline would curve downward instead of being flat. Einstein theorized that Earth and other massive objects affect space and time around them in a similar way. According to Einstein, objects curve toward one another because of the curves in space and time, not because they are pulling on each other with a force of attraction as Newton thought.
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