Newtonian Gravitation
The Free High School Science Texts: A Textbook for High School Students Studying Physics
Main Page - << Previous Chapter (Collisions and Explosions) - Next Chapter (Pressure) >>
Properties - Mass and Weight - Normal Forces - Comparative Problems - Falling Bodies - Terminal Velocity - Drag Force - Important Equations and Quantities

Newtonian Gravitation

All objects on Earth are pulled downward, towards the ground. This phenomenon is called gravity. Every object falls just as fast as any other object (unless the air slows it down like a feather, or pushes it up like a balloon), as first shown by Galileo. In 1687 Isaac Newton stated that gravity is not restricted to the Earth, but instead, there is gravity everywhere in the universe. Newton explained that planets, moons, and comets move in orbits because of the effect of gravity.