Science Thursday: Why the Earth doesn't crash into the Sun

Explaining stable orbits and gravitational forces in about a minute

By Keith Shaw

May 03, 2012, 1:36 PM — This week's MinutePhysics video is a few days later in the week, but it was worth the wait. This week, we get a quick description about why the Earth doesn't crash into the Sun, or why the Moon doesn't crash into the Earth. Watch the video for the answer:

So the next time you are at a science museum and you see those coin things that kids love, you can explain the idea of stable orbits and friction. And your kids will just stare back at you.

Keith Shaw rounds up the best in geek video in his ITworld.tv blog. Follow Keith on Twitter at @shawkeith. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-tos, follow ITworld on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

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Keith Shaw writes the Cool Tools column for Network World, and is the Multimedia Content Editor for IDG Enterprise, responsible for editorial video and audio content creation. Follow him on Twitter @shawkeith.