Isaac Newton described the force of gravity in the 17th century.
Determining the etymological origin of the two words that give shape to the term force of gravity is the first thing we are going to do. In this sense, it must be said that both emanate from Latin:
• Strength, comes from the word fortia , which can be translated as "strong."
• Gravity, is the result of the development of gravitas . This word was used to indicate "quality of weight" and was made up of two clearly differentiated parts: the adjective gravis , which is equivalent to "heavy", and the suffix -dad , which indicates "quality".
What is the force of gravity
Force is a term with various uses and applications. It may be the application of moral or physical power; of vigor and the ability to move something or someone that resists or has weight; of the natural efficacy of things; of the most vigorous state of something; or the action that can modify the state of movement or rest of a body.
Gravity is a concept that is used in the field of physics and is associated with weight . British physicist, philosopher, mathematician, and inventor Sir Isaac Newton was responsible for developing the theory of gravity .
It can be said that the force of gravity is the physical force that the mass of the planet exerts on objects that are within its gravitational field . In this way, gravity represents the weight of a body.
The force of gravity varies depending on the planet.
The law of universal gravitation
In the year 1685 , specifically, the birth of Newton 's law of universal gravitation was established, which unquestionably came to take a step further in a field in which until then the "rules" and imposed ideas had been those established by Kepler .
However, long before both figures throughout history there were other personalities who were researching and studying in that sense. This would be the case, for example, of Galileo Galilei who, for example, was responsible for incorporating and establishing the concept of inertia .
Principles of the force of gravity
In order to understand the principles of the force of gravity, we could establish two fundamental maxims regarding it:
• It affects movement, since it can cause a body to start, stop and even modify its movement.
• It is responsible for braking objects or bodies that are thrown upwards and, however, accelerating those that move downwards.
Variation according to the planet
It is important to keep in mind that this force can vary according to the planet and its corresponding gravitational field. A person will have different weight on Earth and on Mars since the mass of these planets is different.
On our planet, gravity is the force that the Earth exerts on bodies towards its center and the force of attraction of bodies due to their mass. Newton indicated that all objects that have mass exert a gravitational attraction on any other object with mass, regardless of the distance between them.
The action of the force of gravity explains why all bodies remain on the surface and do not float through the atmosphere, or why, if we throw a ball upwards, it will rise but then begin to fall until it falls to the ground.