Flashcards for:
Lesson 25: Gravity, Planetary Motion, Tides, and Einstein's Theories

Planets move along geodesics in curved space-time created by the Sun’s mass, rather than being pulled by a gravitational force.

Einstein realized that all bodies fall at the same rate due to the equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass, leading to his development of general relativity.

The radius vector from the Sun to a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

It is a theoretical possibility that our universe could exist within a black hole in another, larger universe, based on the complex nature of black holes in Einstein's theory.

Geodesics are the shortest paths in curved space-time, along which objects move under the influence of gravity.

The bending of light around the Sun during an eclipse provided empirical evidence for Einstein's theory.

Einstein replaced the concept of gravitational force with the curvature of space-time, where mass causes space-time to curve and objects move along these curves.

A black hole is formed from the collapse of a massive star. It is a region of space where the gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape.

Kepler’s laws describe planetary motion, which Newton explained with his mechanics and gravitation. Einstein further expanded this with his theory of general relativity, describing gravity as space-time curvature.

No experiment inside a laboratory can differentiate between a uniform gravitational field and an accelerated frame of reference.

The square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis.

Galileo incorrectly theorized that there should only be one high tide per day at noon.

The Earth-Moon system rotates around a common center of mass, creating two bulges of water. As Earth's rotation carries locations under these bulges, two high and two low tides are observed.

The Sun’s gravitational pull reinforces the Moon’s tides, causing higher high tides during new and full moons, known as spring tides.

Newton connected Kepler's laws to his laws of motion and universal gravitation, showing that planetary orbits result from gravitational forces.