Gravity keeps the earth, moon and sun in orbit. It keeps us on the ground instead of floating in space. And yet, it is the weakest of all the forces. This public radio story explores the velocity in rockets, the shapes of planets, the trajectories of baseballs, and even the strength of the human leg bones.
Physical Science Space Systems Forces and Newton's Laws Earth and Space Science
Story Length: 3:34
Big Picture Science
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the process of putting liquid into shale to remove natural gas. There's concern that waste water from fracking that is put back into the ground is causing earthquakes. This public radio story explores the relationship between fracking and earthquakes.
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Throwing a curveball is one of the most difficult pitches in baseball. In this public radio story an expert in throwing the curve ball gives you a tutorial, but it’s also a lesson in physics and gravity as we look at how objects travel through space.
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Gravity keeps our feet on the ground, it creates a curve ball, and it can also be used to find new planets. The star at the center of our solar system maintains life on Earth and its gravitational pull creates the orbit of planets. But our sun is just one of many stars in an ever expanding universe. Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to our solar system and new technology is allowing us to better understand our neighbor. Observations of Alpha Centauri date back to 1592, but it wasn’t until 2012 that astronomers in Chile were able to identify a planet orbiting one of the stars in Alpha Centauri because of its gravitational wobble. Listen to learn more about the properties and potential of this new planet.
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