Gravity Quote by Richard Feynman
““The next question was — what makes planets go around the sun? At the time of Kepler some people answered this problem by saying that there were angels behind them beating their wings and pushing the planets around an orbit. As you will see, the answer is not very far from the truth. The only difference is that the angels sit in a different direction and their wings push inward.””
About This Quote
Source Lecture: The Feynman Lectures on Physics, 1963
Uses a metaphor of angels with wings to explain gravitational attraction, showing that forces act inward like wings pushing.
In simple terms: Forces act inward like angel wings.
Key Takeaway
Understand gravity as inward pull.
Themes
science
metaphor
physics
Mood
instructive
thought‑provoking
Type
educational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- teaching physics
- explaining or
- science communication
Key Concepts
gravitational force
historical models
Questions to Reflect On
- How can metaphor aid learning?
- What limits do metaphors have in science?
A Different Perspective
Metaphor may oversimplify complex physics.
![“[Newton wrote to Halley ... that he would not give Hooke any credit] That, alas, is vanity. You find it in so many scientists. You know, it has always hurt me to think that Galileo did not acknowledge the work of Kepler.” quote by Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d8d/albert-einstein-33_acknowledge_newton-wrote-to-halley-that-he-would-not_344363.jpg)
![“Foreshadowings of the principles and even of the language of [the infinitesimal] calculus can be found in the writings of Napier , Kepler , Cavalieri , Fermat , Wallis , and Barrow . It was Newton 's good luck to come at a time when everything was ripe for the discovery, and his ability enabled…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e09/anonymous-1_ability_foreshadowings-of-the-principles-and-eve_273197.jpg)
![“I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests with ZERO-G [a charter-flight service in Arlington, Va., that uses modified Boeing 727s to simulate weightlessness], which went great.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aa1/richard-branson-256_adventure_i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-repl_903.jpg)
