I went to Woolsthorpe Manor to understand the 3 Laws of Motion and the Universal Law of Gravitation so I can understand how to launch things in to space. I hope this will help me with my NASA project
Isaac Newton lived and grew up at Woolsthorpe Manor. He was born in 1643 and he died in 1723. Because he was born at a time where we changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar he actually has two birthdays.
Isaac Newton discovered that light is made up of a range of different colours using a prism. People in his time thought that it was the prism that created different colours but Newton proved that white light is made up of different colours and that the prism just splits the light into separate colours.
He also invented a mill that allowed his mother to grind her wheat at home.
Newton sat under his apple tree when an apple fell to the ground. This made him ask the question 'Why do things fall down and not up, left or right?' His eventual answer created the Universal Law of Gravitation
He discovered that things fell down due to an invisible force called gravity. Gravity works through forces pulling towards each other. We stay on the surface of our planet because gravity is pulling us towards the centre of the earth. Once we understand this, and how the rotation of the earth plays a part in it, we can start to understand how things stay in orbit around planets.
Newton used to graffiti the walls of his home but not spray-can graffiti like today. It was more like scratching onto the wall. It was not unusual for people at this time to use walls like paper. If you needed fresh paper, you just limewashed and started again. You can still see some of Newton's original workings at Woolsthorpe which was really interesting to see.
Newton also discovered the 3 Laws of Motion:
1. An object will keep moving in the same direction unless a force acts upon it to make it change direction or speed.
For example, a moving object doesn't stop on its own without something to stop it. Resistance and friction against the object can be many environmental factors like wind resistance or ground resistance.
2. Force = mass x acceleration (F=ma)
The bigger the mass of an object, the bigger the force needed to move it.
For example. it takes more force to move a double decker bus than a pencil.
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
For example: when you are swimming you move forwards by pushing water behind you. It is the water moving backwards that propels you forwards.
At Woolsthorpe there is a Science Discovery Centre dedicated to the discoveries of Newton. It has lots of hands on experiments to do including a holographic apple!
In the centre I did an experiment about pendulums and had a look at whether the length or weight of a pendulum made any difference to the time it took to perform a period (the name for a pendulum completing a full swing from left to right and back again).
We also did several experiments to see how white light is made up of different colours. We used a round disc held a distance away from the white light and, when held at the right distance, it split the colours. This is a replica of an experiment Newton did in his bedroom at Woolsthorpe. Except he cut a round hole in his wooden shutter! The hole is still there today.
When Newton died in 1723 he had a death mask made. You can see this in the Manor.
Interesting facts I learnt:
Not only did Newton discover amazing things he also invented the cat flap!
Newton was mostly home schooled
Newton, when he was in command of the Mint, invented the grooves that are still used around our coins today. He did it to stop people trimming and clipping the coins.
The apple tree Newton sat under is still there today and it still bears fruit. The apples from it are used by the pub in our village. You have to have special permission from Woolsthorpe to be allowed to use their fruit!
Isaac Newton discovered that light is made up of a range of different colours using a prism. People in his time thought that it was the prism that created different colours but Newton proved that white light is made up of different colours and that the prism just splits the light into separate colours.
He also invented a mill that allowed his mother to grind her wheat at home.
Newton sat under his apple tree when an apple fell to the ground. This made him ask the question 'Why do things fall down and not up, left or right?' His eventual answer created the Universal Law of Gravitation
He discovered that things fell down due to an invisible force called gravity. Gravity works through forces pulling towards each other. We stay on the surface of our planet because gravity is pulling us towards the centre of the earth. Once we understand this, and how the rotation of the earth plays a part in it, we can start to understand how things stay in orbit around planets.
Newton used to graffiti the walls of his home but not spray-can graffiti like today. It was more like scratching onto the wall. It was not unusual for people at this time to use walls like paper. If you needed fresh paper, you just limewashed and started again. You can still see some of Newton's original workings at Woolsthorpe which was really interesting to see.
Newton also discovered the 3 Laws of Motion:
1. An object will keep moving in the same direction unless a force acts upon it to make it change direction or speed.
For example, a moving object doesn't stop on its own without something to stop it. Resistance and friction against the object can be many environmental factors like wind resistance or ground resistance.
2. Force = mass x acceleration (F=ma)
The bigger the mass of an object, the bigger the force needed to move it.
For example. it takes more force to move a double decker bus than a pencil.
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
For example: when you are swimming you move forwards by pushing water behind you. It is the water moving backwards that propels you forwards.
At Woolsthorpe there is a Science Discovery Centre dedicated to the discoveries of Newton. It has lots of hands on experiments to do including a holographic apple!
We also did several experiments to see how white light is made up of different colours. We used a round disc held a distance away from the white light and, when held at the right distance, it split the colours. This is a replica of an experiment Newton did in his bedroom at Woolsthorpe. Except he cut a round hole in his wooden shutter! The hole is still there today.
When Newton died in 1723 he had a death mask made. You can see this in the Manor.
Interesting facts I learnt:
Not only did Newton discover amazing things he also invented the cat flap!
Newton was mostly home schooled
Newton, when he was in command of the Mint, invented the grooves that are still used around our coins today. He did it to stop people trimming and clipping the coins.
The apple tree Newton sat under is still there today and it still bears fruit. The apples from it are used by the pub in our village. You have to have special permission from Woolsthorpe to be allowed to use their fruit!
