Newton was also very good at mathematics and he was able to describe this mysterious
force as
where
is known as ``BIG G'' or the gravitational constant. This is Newton's Law of
Gravitation. Scientists have been able to measure this number to be
Let us do a little experiment.
The mass of the Earth is ?? kg while your averge apple is about ?? kg.If you lift
the apple above your head to a height of 2 m say, then from Newton's Law
we calculate the force of attraction (or force of gravity) to be ....
Now, let us say that you weigh ?? kg (a wild guess!!). Your computer in front of you is
probably about ..kg. Your face is probably about half a metre (0.5m) from the
computer screen.The force of attraction in this case is .....
But that is .... times less than the force of gravity on the falling apple! No wonder you
do not know anything about it!
But gravity plays a much greater role than simply helping apples drop out of the sky.