Why the solar system can exist
If gravity is so attractive, why doesn't the earth just crash into the sun? Or the moon into the earth? The answer: Stable Orbits hyperbolic funnel video: http://bit.ly/r5xhng minutephysi...
==========
Have you ever wondered how the earth stays in orbit around the sun? I mean, the pullof gravity is stronger the closer you are to the sun, so you'd think that if the earthgot bumped slightly towards the sun (like, if you jumped, or something), then the sunwould pull just a little bit stronger, tugging the earth yet closer still, at which pointthe sun's pull would be stronger yet again, … and the earth would spiral in to its eventualdoom.But you and I and swiss cheese are clearly evidence that the earth doesn't just spiralin to its doom – so why not? Well, when the earth does get pushed a little bit towardsthe sun, the sun's pull speeds it up a little bit, too - so even though the nearby sun'spull is stronger, the earth will be go...
==========
Have you ever wondered how the earth stays in orbit around the sun? I mean, the pullof gravity is stronger the closer you are to the sun, so you'd think that if the earthgot bumped slightly towards the sun (like, if you jumped, or something), then the sunwould pull just a little bit stronger, tugging the earth yet closer still, at which pointthe sun's pull would be stronger yet again, … and the earth would spiral in to its eventualdoom.But you and I and swiss cheese are clearly evidence that the earth doesn't just spiralin to its doom – so why not? Well, when the earth does get pushed a little bit towardsthe sun, the sun's pull speeds it up a little bit, too - so even though the nearby sun'spull is stronger, the earth will be go...
