SONG: Describing Gravity Medley - Horrible Science

Horrible Science is here with some truly iconic names to sing you a jolly old medley, all about gravity. Sir Isaac Newton sings about how things fall down from the force of gravity. Watch your head... astronomer Galileo sings about dropping cannonballs from very high places. Then what's that? The musical is out of this world (literally). The Moon and Earth start duetting about floating... looks like all these scientific superstars are describing gravity. Are you ready to sing along to these ludicrous lyrics?

Check out the song to see how Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo and the Earth and Moon describe gravity! 

Gravity is a force that pulls things down. It's something every object has - it's a force that works throughout Earth, the Moon, and throughout space. It's a non-contact force that keeps things on the ground and Sir Isaac Newton discovered it!

How did Isaac Newton discover gravity?

Some say an apple fell on his head and he wondered why it did so, but that's not actually quite true! He saw apples falling, yes, but they didn't land on his head. He wondered what was making the apples fall, and thought there could be a force working on everything around him that kept things on the floor, rather than floating.

Who was Galileo and what does he say about gravity? 

Galileo was a popular Italian astronomer and scientist who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. He's famous for his thoughts on gravity - he experimented dropping cannonballs of different weights from the same height to see if they landed at the same time (and they did!). Before his tests, it was believed that in the absence of air resistance, heavier things always fall faster than lighter things... but this isn't true.

Yes, when air resistance comes into play, some things fall more slowly than others. Using a paper plate versus a bowling ball as an example, the paper plate will catch the air and its fall will be resisted, whereas the bowling ball has a different kind of surface and will fall straight down, quicker.

Did you know: in a vacuum, everything, no matter the size, weight or surface area, falls at the same speed? 

The Moon and gravity

If it wasn't for gravity, all the planets would be floating around in space... turns out, gravity holds them all in specific positions, and planets all orbit (move around) the Sun in our galaxy. The Moon has a particular gravitational effect on the Earth - the force it puts on the Earth affects our ocean tides, and the angle that the Earth sits and spins at. Pretty cool, right?

(ISAAC NEWTON)

I am the OG…E, Original Gravity Explainer. All right, enough chit-chat. Hit it!

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.

(NARRATOR) Let gravity pull you to ancient Italy, to meet popular astronomer, Galileo, who dropped cannonballs off a tower not just for lolz, but to find out if heavier objects fell faster than lighter ones. Look out below!

(GALILEO)

Dropping stuff,

I’m going to be dropping stuff,

To measure the speed it falls,

All my cannonballs,

Will land at the same time,

Because they all accelerate at the exact same rate,

Everything will hit the ground.

When I’m dropping stuff,

I really like dropping stuff,

Going to prove to you all,

That the speed things fall,

If their mass is high or low,

Is the same.

Just make sure you check before you throw...

You really should know.

(NARRATOR) It’s the musical that’s out of this world, literally, because gravity affects everything in the universe, including the Earth and the Moon.

(EARTH AND MOON)

Floating, people think that we’re just floating,

Up in space. (That’s lies!) (The whole thing!)

Let’s just say, it’s gravity.

I stay here because Earth is pulling me!

And without the Sun’s huge gravity,

We’d simply both be floating,

And because of gravitation,

It makes tides,

I’m a sensation,

And this force is strong!

Because the pull of gravity is so great,

We stick near our planetary mates,

Without it, we’d be floating, floating, through space all day long!

(NARRATOR) Forcing its way into theatres this fall, Gravity, the Musical.

(ISAAC 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,

(ISAAC NEWTON)

Because Earth’s mass pulls things down! Oh-woooahh!

Horrible Science is the brand new show from the creators of the hilarious Horrible Histories!

Join Sir Issac Newton and falling apples, meet the T-Rex at the doctors and more odd, strange, but interesting comedy scenes from the scientific world!

With hilarious new characters, mind-boggling science facts, and terrifying rollercoasters - science is about to get very horrible indeed!

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