CPB - The Mechanical Universe…and Beyond (1986) Part 4 Inertia

The Mechanical Universe…and Beyond

This series helps teachers demystify physics by showing students what it looks like. Field trips to hot-air balloon events, symphony concerts, bicycle shops, and other locales make complex concepts more accessible. Inventive computer graphics illustrate abstract concepts such as time, force, and capacitance, while historical re-enactments of the studies of Newton, Leibniz, Maxwell, and others trace the evolution of theories. The Mechanical Universe helps meet different students' needs, from the basic requirements of liberal arts students to the rigorous demands of science and engineering majors. This series is also valuable for teacher professional development.

Part 4: Inertia

The rise of Galileo and his fall from grace. Copernicus conjectured that the Earth spins on its axis and orbits around the sun. Considering its implications, a rather dangerous assumption that prompted rather risky questions: Why do objects fall to Earth rather than hurtle off into space? And in this heretical scheme of things in which the Earth wasn't at the center, where was God? Risking more than his favored status in Rome, Galileo helped to answer such questions with the law of inertia.