Why do planets orbit? (With Dan Burns)

Dan Burns explains his space-time warping demo at a PTSOS workshop at Los Gatos High School, on March 10, 2012. Thanks to Shannon Range from the Gravity Probe B program for creating the original demonstration which he shared with Dan in 2004. This video was excerpted from Dan's original video.

[craigthompson]

This is the difference between a teacher and someone that teaches.

Great video.

[crazyman]

Using earth's gravity to explain gravity, wow😀

[frankv]

There’s one key detail that since I was 9 years old that was never explained to me and finally understood by myself today at 39😖, the reason why the balls rotate but eventually end up falling in the center of the demonstration is the loss of energy from friction! There’s no friction in the vacuum of space like the cloth so the centrifugal and centripetal forces cancel out, the planets keep rotating for the lifetime of the Sun’s mass. It’s so simple but many teachers miss that one point!

[dnse]

Thanks for sharing the video. Great demo.

[YahReAWanarom]

Thank you, it's every easy to understand.

[Tater]

WHAT gave the planets that initial sideways push? what made us START to orbit to start with?

[eydyeylf]

For those asking what made the planets pushed sideways, and how it's formed:

It’s not a push but rather the result of gravity and how the Sun and the solar system formed. The Sun was created from a cloud of gas and dust that collapsed under its own gravity. As it formed, the surrounding rocks and dust were pulled in by its gravity while orbiting, colliding, and clumping together. With no external force to stop them, they kept spinning, eventually forming the planets, which continue to orbit the Sun to this day.

[AquaMoon]

In fifth grade I had an argument with my science teacher after I saw a very similar demonstration at a planetarium and she didn’t believe mass could bend space time. Either that or it was a miscommunication and we both agreed with each other lol.

[todortoshe]

Ok, sun as a massive object curves the space-time and earth moves around it. But what makes the earth keeps rotating at constant path and not going towards the sun?

[coreycantu]

Is there any place but YouTube where you can find people arguing against gravity?

[BoyejercitoVlog]

For me this illustration draw more questions rather than answers. Why?

For instance Dan Burns throw the smaller objects with force to cause them to orbit around the bigger one and finally sucks up. In the case of planets who cause them to orbit around the Sun continually for billion of years?

[abdulquddus]

Where is the fabric like thing in the space

[ProGamer_]

i was originally gonna say how this dude didnt credit the original poster, but then i checked the description and i said “ok”

also anyone notice he was teaching other teachers? (comment edit addition was a comment from the original video)

[roberthammond]

that spins cos of downward directional change due to force of gravity but the solar system is not in that situation.

[prabhusuccess]

If fabric is there than why earth ground is not touching to fabric layar,
Why we are not touching where is the gap
Can u please explain

[sarahmurguia]

Thank you that gave me lots of information and it on my test I sat it thank you

[scienceofuniverse]

You has given force to small ball ⚽️ so ball is moving. If you doesn’t give force to small ball how can move the ball in elliptical

[simplecomplicated]

my question is how does that central heavy object stop there in space when there is no base underneath to stop, , why did it not keep going down and down and down

[CaptainFights]

Can you please show this demonstration with 8 planets and their moons? Thanks. (Gravity does not cause planets to or keep them in semi-stable orbit.)

[trueindian]

Cam the same experiment repeated in zero gravity environment?