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Next morning, under a clearing sky, Newton saw his young nephew playing with a
ball. The ball was tied to a string the boy held tight in his fist. He swung the ball, slowly at
first, and then faster and faster until it stretched straight out.
With a start Newton realized that the ball was exactly like the moon. Two forces acted
on the ballits motion (driving it outward) and the pull of a string (holding it in). Two
forces acted on the moon. Its motion and the pull of gravitythe same pull (force) that
made the apple fall.
For the first time, Newton considered the possibility that gravity was a universal attractive force instead of a force that applied only to planets and stars. His deep belief in alchemy and its concept of the attraction of matter led him to postulate that gravitational
attraction force did not just apply to heavenly objects, but to all objects with any mass.
Gravity pulled apples to earth, made rain fall, and held planets in their orbits around the sun.
Newtons discovery of the concept of universal gravitation was a major blow to the
prevalent belief that the laws of nature on Earth were different from those that ruled the
heavens. Newton showed that the machinery that ruled the universe and nature is simple.
Newton developed universal gravitation as a property of all matter, not just of planets
and stars. Universal gravitation and its mathematical expression lie at the foundation of all
modern physics as one of the most important principles in all science.
Fun Facts: The Flower of Kent is a large green variety of apple. According to the story, this is the apple Isaac Newton saw falling to ground from
its tree, inspiring his discovery of universal gravitation.
More to Explore
Christianson, Gale. Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1996.
Gale, Christeanson. In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton and His Times. New
York: Collier Macmillan, 1994.
Gleick, James. Isaac Newton. New York: Vintage , 2004
Koestler, Arthur. The Sleepwalkers: A History of Mans Changing Vision of the Universe. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1999.
Maury, Jean. Newton: The Father of Modern Astronomy. New York: Harry Abrams,
1996.
Peteson, Ivars. Newtons Clock. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1995.
White, Michael. Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer. Jackson, TN: Perseus Books, 1999.
Fossils
Year of Discovery: 1669
What Is It? Fossils are the remains of past living organisms.
Who Discovered It? Nicholas Steno
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