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tags: #physics #gravity #hub-note

Gravity is the fundamental force of attraction between all things that have mass or energy. Understanding its nature has been a central quest in physics, marking the transition from ancient philosophy to modern science.

This hub connects the key milestones in our understanding of gravity:

• Copernicus's Heliocentric Model: The crucial first step in shifting our cosmic perspective away from the Earth-centered model of Aristotle's Cosmology.
• Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion: Provided the precise mathematical description of how planets move, discovering that orbits are elliptical, not circular.
• Galileo's Gravity Experiments: Through experiments with falling objects and inclined planes, Galileo demonstrated that all objects accelerate at the same rate, regardless of their mass.
• Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation: The grand synthesis that explained why planets move as Kepler described and why apples fall as Galileo observed, uniting the heavens and the Earth under a single, universal law.

Our modern understanding of gravity would later be revolutionized by Einstein's theory of General Relativity, which describes gravity not as a force, but as a curvature of spacetime.

Reference

Coursera, "Question Reality: Matter"