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→Early history
=== Early history ===
=== Early history ===
Efforts to understand gravity began in ancient times. [[Indian philosophy|Philosophers]] in [[History of science in early cultures#India|ancient India]] explained the phenomenon from the 8th century BC.
Efforts to understand gravity began in ancient times. [[Indian philosophy|Philosophers]] in [[History of science in early cultures#India|ancient India]] explained the phenomenon from the 8th century BC.
<blockquote>"Two hundred years before [[Pythagoras]], philosophers in northern India had understood that gravitation held the solar system together, and that therefore the sun, the most massive object, had to be at its centre."}}</blockquote> According to [[Kanada]], founder of the [[Vaisheshika]] school, "[[Mass|Weight]] causes falling; it is [[Wiktionary:imperceptible|imperceptible]] and known by [[inference]]."[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0310001 Indian Physics: Outline of Early History''], p. 22. ''[[arXiv]]''. [[Louisiana State University]].
<blockquote>"Two hundred years before [[Pythagoras]], philosophers in northern India had understood that gravitation held the solar system together, and that therefore the sun, the most massive object, had to be at its centre."</blockquote> According to [[Kanada]], founder of the [[Vaisheshika]] school, "[[Mass|Weight]] causes falling; it is [[Wiktionary:imperceptible|imperceptible]] and known by [[inference]]."[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0310001 Indian Physics: Outline of Early History''], p. 22. [[Louisiana State University]].
In the 4th century BC, the [[Greek philosophy|Greek philosopher]] [[Aristotle]] believed that there was no [[result|effect]] without a [[cause]], and therefore no [[Motion (physics)|motion]] without a [[force]]. He hypothesized that everything tried to move towards its proper place in the [[Celestial spheres|crystalline sphere]]s of the heavens, and that physical bodies fell toward the center of the [[Earth]] in proportion to their [[weight]].
In the 4th century BC, the [[Greek philosophy|Greek philosopher]] [[Aristotle]] believed that there was no [[result|effect]] without a [[cause]], and therefore no [[Motion (physics)|motion]] without a [[force]]. He hypothesized that everything tried to move towards its proper place in the [[Celestial spheres|crystalline sphere]]s of the heavens, and that physical bodies fell toward the center of the [[Earth]] in proportion to their [[weight]].