Understanding Gravity: From Newton to Black Holes

Gravity, a fundamental force of nature, is the invisible pull that attracts objects with mass towards each other. It's why we stay grounded and why planets orbit the sun.

Sir Isaac Newton formulated the law of universal gravitation in the 17th century. Legend says an apple falling from a tree inspired his thoughts on gravity.

Einstein's theory of general relativity revolutionized our understanding of gravity, describing it as the warping of space-time by mass, rather than a force acting at a distance.

Gravity waves travel at the speed of light. This was confirmed by observations of colliding neutron stars, aligning with predictions from Einstein's theory of relativity.

Gravity is not uniform. The Earth's rotation, its non-spherical shape, and variations in density and thickness of the crust cause slight differences in gravitational pull across the planet.

Astronauts appear weightless in space due to microgravity. They're in a continuous state of free fall towards Earth, but because the Earth curves, they keep missing it - hence, 'orbiting'.

Black holes possess such strong gravitational pulls that not even light can escape. Their gravity crushes matter into an infinitely dense point known as a singularity.

On certain hills, objects appear to roll uphill against gravity. These optical illusions, called gravity hills, mystify even seasoned scientists.