What is gravity?
Gravity is the force of attraction between two objects.
It pulls everything downwards towards the centre of the Earth.
Gravity holds the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun.
Watch: Gravity! The musical!
MOVIE VOICEOVER
Coming soon, The totally wicked story of… Gravity!
MOVIE VOICEOVER
Once upon a time, long before Elphaba and Glinda, an apple fell on Sir Isaac Newton’s head.
ISAAC NEWTON
Okay, so an apple never actually fell on my head. I was just trying to explain gravity and I used an apple falling as an example.
MOVIE VOICEOVER
Okay… But you were the first person to understand how gravity works though, right?
ISAAC NEWTON
You bet I was. I am… I am the OG… E. Original Gravity Explainer! Right enough chit chat - Hit it.
ISAAC NEWTON
Something every object has,
Big or small, it’s still the case.
This is a force that works on Earth,
The Moon and throughout space.
A force we call non-contact
That keeps us on the ground.
It is a force that I am
Proud to say I found.
So here am I describing gravity,
So don’t you try denying gravity.
The force that pulls stuff down.
MOVIE VOICEOVER
Let gravity pull you to ancient Italy, to meet popular astronomer, Galileo, who dropped cannon balls off a tower, not just for LOLs, but to find out if heavier objects fell faster than lighter ones.
GALILEO
Look out below!
GALILEO
Dropping stuff, I’m gonna be dro-opping stuff,
To measure the speed it falls.
All my cannon balls
Will land at the same time.
GALILEO
Cos they all accelerate
The exact same rate
Everything will hit the ground when I’m…
Dropping stuff, I really like dro-oopping stuff…
GALILEO
Gonna prove to you all,
That the speed things fall,
If their mass is high or low,
Is the same…
GALILEO
… Just make sure you check before you throw.
(calling down) You really should have moved.
MOVIE VOICEOVER
It's the musical that's out of this world! Literally. Because gravity affects everything in the universe… Including the Earth and the Moon.
BOTH
Floating, people think that we’re just floating,
Up in space.
EARTH
That’s lies!
MOON
The whole thing.
BOTH
Let's just say, it’s gravity!
MOON
I stay here cause Earth is pulling me…
EARTH
And without the Sun’s huge gravity…
BOTH
We’d simply both be floating…
EARTH
And because of gravitation…He makes tides
MOON
I’m a sensation!
BOTHAnd this force is strong,
Cos the pull of gravity’s so great,
We stick near our planetary mates.
Without it we’d be floating,
Floating through space all day long.
MOVIE VOICEOVER
Forcing its way into theatres this fall! Gravity! The Musical!
NEWTON
So if you wish to see it,
Chuck something in the sky.
Carefully.
What goes up must come down!
GALILEO
But first it can travel up pretty HIGH!
EARTH AND MOON
Oh, we’re describing gravity.
GALILEO
Who knew that I was describing gravity?
NEWTON
Cos Earth’s mass pulls things down.
Oh-oh-oh-oh.
NEWTON
OW! RUINED MY LAST NOTE!
Who discovered gravity?
Throughout history, many scientists have explored gravity.
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton was born in England in 1643.
He wondered how the Moon was kept in the Earth's orbit, and when an apple fell from a tree, he used this to help describe gravity.
Newton also once owned a dog named Diamond who accidentally set Newton's laboratory on fire, destroying many years' work!
But before him, there was Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was born in Italy in the 16th Century.
He explored gravity by dropping objects off the Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1589.
His experiment proved that despite the different size or weight of the objects he dropped, the pull of gravity on them is the same.
Horrible Science fact
The gravity on Mars is much weaker than it is on Earth.
If you picked up a 10kg weight on Mars it would feel like it only weighed 4kg!
Quiz: Gravity! The musical!
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