Ever wondered what is the force that has kept us pulled back on the ground? Or why the spaceship is made is to fly at such high speeds? Or how the tides are caused in the ocean? We all know that there is some force that is constantly acting on every living and non-living thing. That force of attraction acting between any two objects is known as gravitational force. Now, what is gravitation? Let us try to answer this question.
What is gravitation?
Gravity or gravitation is derived from Latin word gravitas which means weight. Gravity is a natural phenomenon that exists between the objects. There are many physicists who worked behind the theory of gravitation.
History behind the gravitational theory
- A Greek mathematician and a physicist Archimedes was the one to discover the center of gravity of a triangle.
- Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata was the one to explain why the objects are not thrown out when the earth rotates.
- An Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei was the one to explain the concept of gravitational acceleration.
- An English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton was the one to publish Principia which stated that gravitational force is proportional to the product of masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Amazing facts about gravity
Following is the list of interesting facts about gravity:
- The escape velocity of earth is 7 miles per second. So for an object to leave earth’s gravitational pull, it should travel at the escape velocity speed.
- Gravity’s inverse square laws imply that its reach is infinite.
- Unlike magnetic force, gravitational force only attracts and never repels.
- It exists in three-dimensional space.
- The origin of this force is unknown.
There are many more interesting facts about our planet and the universe that we are part of. To learn more about other concepts like Sscchslinfo.in, instantaneous speed, kinetic friction, etc, visit BYJU’S.
