Lecture 18: The Apple and the Moon - Newtonian Gravity

What is Gravity? This lecture reviews the law of falling bodies first described by Galileo, and then Newton's explanation in terms of his Law of Universal Gravitation. Gravity is a mutually attractive force that acts between any two massive bodies. Its strength is proportional to the product of the two masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. We then compare the fall of an apple on the Earth to the orbit of the Moon, and show that the Moon is held in its orbit by the same gravity that works on the surface of the Earth. In effect, the Moon is perpetually "falling" around the Earth. Recorded 2006 Oct 16 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.