Unit 2: History & Celestial Orbits Flashcards
What is heliocentrism?
The belief that the Sun is at the center of the solar system
What is geocentrism?
The belief that the Earth is at the center of the solar system
What are Kepler’s 3 Laws?
-Law 1: The orbits of the planets are ellipses, with the Sun as one focus
-Law 2: When a planet is closer to the sun’s perihelion, it travels faster than if it’s by the sun’s aphelion
-Law 3: Period^2 is proportional to distance^3
What are Newton’s 3 laws?
-Law 1: If no force acts upon a body, it’s force remains constant (an object at motion stays in motion)
-Law 2: If a body of mass m is acted upon a force F, then its acceleration a is given by a=F/m
-Law 3: If body A exerts force no body B, then body B exerts an equal and opposite force on body A (every action has an equal opposite attraction)
Newton’s law of gravity
Every particle or body in the Universe attracts every other particle or body
What’s the difference between Einstein’s general relativity v. Newton’s gravity law
For Einstein’s General Relativity, both space and time are distorted/affected by the presence of mass (a=F/m), whereas in Newton’s gravity, only an object’s motion through space is affected by the gravitational force
What is warped spacetime?
Matter that moves on lines that seems straight to the matter, but looked curved to an external observer in regions where the spacetime is curved
Who is most noted for advocating the heliocentric theory?
Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei
Who are most noted for the geocentric theory?
Aristotle and Ptolemy
