Physics

Dear student,

As school approaches, I would like to give you some suggestions about the kind of topics we are going to study together this year.

Please, try to reflect on the next questions:

-Why does the force of gravity acting upon an object depend upon the location of the object relative to the Earth?
-How does gravity affect objects which are far beyond the surface of the Earth?
-How far-reaching is gravity's influence? And is the force of gravity which attracts my body to the Earth related to the force of gravity between the planets and the Sun?
-What does create this Force of Gravity? Was Einstein right in saying that it is a consequence of the curvature of the Universe ( because of the presence of matter)?
-Is the elephant or the book landing first if we drop them from the top of a building at the same time , in absence of air resistance?

In our course we’ll discover some things you haven’t considered before like:

-The same force which causes objects on Earth to fall to the Earth also causes objects in the heavens to move along their circular and elliptical paths. Quite amazingly, the laws of mechanics which govern the motions of objects on Earth also govern the movement of objects in the heavens.


-Newton's comparison of the acceleration of the apple to that of the moon led to a surprisingly simple conclusion about the nature of gravity which is woven into the entire universe.


-The value of g is independent of the mass of the object and only dependent upon location - the planet the object is on and the distance from the center of that planet.

-Are gravitational mass and inertial mass-different? (one of the key issue in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity!)

-Why planet’s orbits are elliptical and why as the planet is closest the sun, the planet is moving fastest and as the planet is farthest from the sun, it is moving slowest.

We’ll address some of students’ misconceptions like:

-It must be a force acting upon an object which keeps it moving!
Or
-It must be the outward/centrifugal force which produces circular motion!

We’ll talk about Brilliant Scientists such as Newton, Kepler or Einstein who changed our life for ever!! Why wouldn't you become one like them?

I invite you to read carefully this blog and I hope you enjoy finding the answers to some of the questions posted here!

See you soon!

# posted by maria vasiliu @ 10:05 AM