DICK:Today we're going to introduce you to one of the greatest scientists ever to live.
DOM:A genius who helped uncover the invisible force that controls not only how everything in the world moves but everything in the universe.
DICK:From this bouncing ball.
DOM:To the stars and the moon in the sky.
DICK:Ladies and gents we give you, the man who discovered how gravity works - Sir Isaac Newton.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON:Oh get me down!
DOM:Alright then.
DICK:There you are, gravity.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON:Aaahh.
DOM:'Newton was born in 1643, when the laws of nature and the universe were a big mystery. It was the early days of modern science.'
DICK:'Newton made many advances in our understanding of the universe, maths and physics.'
DOM:'But it was here where he began to make his ground-breaking discoveries about gravity.' And with this apple, well not this apple, the original's a bit mouldy by now but with an apple. Watch this.
DICK:Did that give you any genius thoughts?
DOM:No.
DICK:Well it did for Isaac because he started thinking why did the apple go downwards instead of upwards or sideways? He started to think that there was some kind of invisible force that was pulling the apple and everything else towards the ground and this force was gravity.
DICK:'Newtons genius idea was in understanding how gravity works. He realised it's a pulling force that makes apples fall to the ground and stops people floating off into the sky.'
DOM:'And he discovered gravity's force even tugs on the moon keeping it orbiting the earth. Genius.' Hey Fran, how are you doing?
FRAN SCOTT:Hello!
DICK:We've been learning about gravity but we want to know how gravity affects us as people.
FRAN SCOTT:Well, first of all, step on the scales Dom.
DOM:Right OK.
FRAN SCOTT:75kg yeah? Let's say that?
DOM:Alright ok 75.
DICK:He's had too many dirty kebabs.
DOM:I have.
FRAN SCOTT:You have eaten a bit too much.
DOM:Is there any way, by science, you can make me lighter?
FRAN SCOTT:Yeah there is right. Here on earth gravity is what it is, we can't really change it but what we can do is there's another way to change your weight by changing like the push and pulls on your body and that's called g-force. So here I have got, Mr. Newton. And we can see how much he weighs on these scales
FRAN SCOTT:and what we're gonna do to Mr. Newton, is speed him up and slow him down and that'll subject him to like different pushes and pulls and it should change his weight. Get on the swings.
DOM:Alright.
DICK:Here we go.
DOM:Oh yeah. He's getting heavier, is that right?
FRAN SCOTT:Yeah, he should be getting heavier when you speed up and when you slow down he should be getting a bit lighter–
DOM:Yes.
FRAN SCOTT:And that's g-force.
DOM:Aah!
CRASH
SIR ISAAC NEWTON:Oh painful!
DICK:'We want to experience some proper g-force so one of us is about to go on this - the human centrifuge and it's not going to be me.' You look quite nervous now to be honest.
DOM:Good.
DOM:'A human centrifuge is used to test the effects of g-force on the body - the kind of g-force experienced by jet pilots.'
DICK:'Jet pilots can experience up to 9g. It makes their bodies feel incredibly heavy, with the blood inside pulled downwards. Some people experience blackouts or g-lock. That's g-induced loss of consciousness.'
DOM:'Is it any wonder I'm looking nervous?'
CENTRIFUGE OPERATOR #1:Standby.
DOM:Down, down , down.
CENTRIFUGE OPERATOR #1:Down, down, down.
DOM:If I'm going to be honest, I can't bear it but let's do it one more time.
DICK:So this time, they're starting out a lot slower, so he gets used to it. So this is one g. Come on Dom. 'At 2.6g, the centrifuge will make Dom weigh around two and a half times his normal weight.'
DOM:My cheeks are really coming down now I'm having to push against the floor to stop blacking out.
DICK:Look at his face.
DOM:It feels like this bag is made out of solid metal.
DICK:'He's done it! Dom's made it up to 2.6g in the human centrifuge.'
CENTRIFUGE OPERATOR #2:Coming down now.
DOM:Wow.
CENTRIFUGE OPERATOR #2:Happy with that?
DOM:I'm glad I did it. I don't think I want to do it again.
DICK:'We've seen g-force make Dom go very heavy. Now we're ready to take on gravity itself.'
DOM:We are going to defy gravity in what is quite cosily known as - The Wall of Death.
DICK:It's quite frankly nuts. 'Riding the wall of death is a daredevil stunt that dates back to the early 1900s. It involves motor cyclists defying gravity by riding around circular, vertical walls. But before we do our challenge, we've got to learn how the bike will stay on the wall.'
DICK:'So we're off to Cambridge university, where Newton studied.'
DOM:'And Dr Hunt, is gonna show us how it works.'
DR HUNT:I want to show you, what force it is
DR HUNT:that's pushing you out onto the wall of death.
DICK:I can feel it a bit. I'm holding myself in really tight. It's getting harder. OK.
DOM:Right woah!
DICK:Wahey!
ALL LAUGHING
DR HUNT:That force pushing you out, is holding your bike onto the wall.
DICK:'So the bike's pushed outwards by a force but it needs something else to help it stick to the wall and defy gravity.'
DR HUNT:You need friction for your wall of death to hold you up and stop you falling down, now if you put that glass of water on my tray here.
DOM:Yes.
DR HUNT:Right.
DICK:What's he doing now?
DOM:The guy's a lunatic.
DR HUNT:OK, yeah I know. That's the idea.
THEY LAUGH
DOM:Here he goes.
DICK:Look at it!
DOM:'Friction is helping hold the water in place. And that same friction should help Dick's bike tyres stick to the wall. Dick will now defy gravity by riding the wall of death.'
DICK:'We're off the ground! Just.' …enough now. Paul can we come down now?
DOM:Why you taking it off?
DICK:I'm done.
DOM:You are such an absolute wuss. 'Ladies and gentlemen, using what Newton taught us about forces, I will now attempt to beat gravity but will I be able to go higher than Dick? We're picking up speed. Moving off the floor. Getting higher.'
DICK:I can't watch.
DOM:'This is unreal. I'm defying gravity. The bike's being pushed out to the wall and friction's helping the tyres stick. This really is genius.'
SIR ISAAC NEWTON:Genius.
DICK:And now do you know what I mean.
DOM:Big wussie.
DICK:You know what I mean?
DOM:Nah, it was like riding a bike.
Video summary
Dick, Dom and Fran Scott from 'Absolute Genius' describe the life and scientific work of Sir Isaac Newton.
He was born in 1643 at a time when the laws of nature were a mystery. He studied maths and physics, and is perhaps best known for discovering gravity. He described it as a ‘pulling force’, and even deduced that it was responsible for keeping the Moon in orbit.
Dick and Dom show the effect of gravity by holding kitchen scales on a swing and spinning in a centrifuge.
They are finally seen driving a motorbike on the Wall of Death.
The key scientific points are made in a fun and student-friendly way.
This short film is from the CBBC series, Absolute Genius with Dick & Dom.
In this entertaining series Dick and Dom learn about the geniuses whose ideas, creations and discoveries have shaped our world.
Teacher Notes
This short film can be used as an introduction to Sir Isaac Newton and his discovery of gravity.
Show this short film to your pupils and then ask them to work in pairs to write an interview with Sir Isaac Newton.
One of them has to come up with questions about his life and work and the other one has to write the answers for Newton.
You could also use this short film to introduce the terms natural force, gravity, push and pull, g-force and centrifuge.
Show images depicting each term and ask your pupils to link and define them.
This short film is suitable for teaching science at Key Stage 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Second Level in Scotland.
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