Who Discovered Zero Gravity?
It's important to clarify that space doesn't have "zero gravity." Instead, it experiences weightlessness. The sensation of weightlessness, often mistakenly called "zero gravity," is due to a lack of forces pushing against an object. While Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation, the experience of weightlessness in space was first observed and confirmed by later astronauts.
- Gravity: Gravity is a force of attraction between any two objects with mass. It's always present, even in space. The strength of gravity weakens with distance, but it never truly disappears.
- Weightlessness: Weightlessness, or microgravity, is the sensation of having no weight. Astronauts experience weightlessness because they are in constant freefall around the Earth. They are falling towards Earth at the same rate as their spacecraft, resulting in a lack of apparent weight.
Early Discoveries and Confirmations
While Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation laid the groundwork for understanding gravity, it was Yuri Gagarin's 1961 spaceflight aboard Vostok 1 that provided the first human experience and confirmation of weightlessness in space. Gagarin's mission demonstrated that objects, including humans, could experience apparent weightlessness in orbit.
- Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727): Discovered the law of universal gravitation, explaining the force of attraction between objects with mass. This was crucial in understanding why objects fall to Earth and how celestial bodies orbit each other.
- Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968): The first human in space, experienced and documented weightlessness during his pioneering Vostok 1 mission in 1961, providing crucial real-world confirmation of theoretical predictions.
Several sources cite Newton's work as crucial to understanding gravity, but it was Gagarin's flight that directly provided the first human experience and confirmation of weightlessness in the context of space travel. Therefore, neither discovered "zero gravity" in the truest sense; Newton defined gravity's effect, and Gagarin experienced the effect of weightlessness in space.
