Earthly attraction: why do not people fall from the surface of the Earth?

Children are sometimes very curious and sometimes ask questions that are very difficult to answer. For example, why do not people fall from the surface of the Earth? After all, it is round, revolves around its axis and still moves in the vast expanses of the universe among a huge number of stars. Why is a person able to walk calmly, sit on the couch and not worry at all? In addition, some nations live upside down. And the sandwich that dropped, falls to the ground, and does not fly into the sky. Maybe something attracts us to the Earth and we can not tear ourselves away?

Why do not people fall from the surface of the Earth?

If the child started asking such questions, you can tell him about gravity, or in another way - about the earth's gravity. After all, it is this phenomenon that causes any object to aspire to the surface of the Earth. Thanks to gravity, a person does not fall and does not fly away.

Earthly attraction allows the planet's population to move freely along its surface, to erect buildings and all kinds of structures, to ride on sleds or skis from the mountain. Thanks to gravity, objects fall down, but do not fly up. To check it in practice, just throw the ball. In any case, he will fall to the ground. That's why people do not fall from the surface of the Earth.

But what about the moon?

Of course, the earth's gravity does not allow a person to fall from the Earth. But another question arises: why does the moon not fall on it? The answer is very simple. The moon moves constantly in the orbit of our planet. If the satellite of the Earth stops, then it will fall to the surface of the planet. This can also be checked by conducting a small experiment. To do this, you need to tie the rope to the nut and unscrew it. It will move through the air until it stops. If you stop the unwinding, the nut simply falls. It is also worth noting that the gravity of the Moon is about 6 times weaker than the gravity of the Earth. It is for this reason that weightlessness is felt here.

The force of gravity is at all

The force of attraction is almost all things: animals, cars, buildings, people and even furniture. And man is not attracted to another person just because our gravity is small enough.

The force of attraction directly depends on the distance between the individual bodies, and also on their mass. Since a man weighs very little, he is attracted not to other objects, namely to the Earth. After all, its mass is much larger. The earth is very large. The mass of our planet is huge. Naturally, and the force of attraction is great. Due to this, all objects are attracted to the Earth.

When was the gravity discovered?

For children, boring facts are uninteresting. But the history of the discovery of terrestrial attraction is quite strange and funny. The law of universal gravitation was discovered by Isaac Newton. The scientist sat under the apple tree and pondered the universe. At that moment a fruit fell on his head. As a result, the scientist realized that all objects fall precisely down, because there is a force of attraction. Isaac Newton continued his studies. The scientist established that the force of gravity depends on the mass of the bodies, and also on the distance between them. He also proved that at a great distance objects can not influence each other. And the law of gravitation arose.

Does everything fall down: a small experiment

So that the child can better understand why people do not fall from the surface of the Earth, you can conduct a small experiment. This will require:

1. Cardboard.
2. Glass.
3. Water.

The glass must be filled with liquid to the very edges. After that, the container should be covered with cardboard so that the air does not get inside. After this, turn the glass upside down while holding the cardboard with your hand. It is best to experiment on the sink.

What happened? The cardboard and water remained in place. The fact is that there is absolutely no air inside the tank. Cardboard and water are unable to overcome the air pressure from the outside. It is for this reason that they remain in their places.