Newton’s apple tree off to zero gravity

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Sir Isaac Newton’s famous apple tree is about to leave gravity behind.

Flying aboard space shuttle Atlantis next week will be a 4-inch sliver of the tree from which an apple fell nearly 350 years ago, inspiring Newton to discover the law of gravity.

British-born NASA astronaut Piers Sellers, 55, is flying the piece of wood for the Royal Society of London. “I’ll take it up into orbit and let it float around a bit, which will confuse Isaac,” he said.

When Sellers last flew in space in 2006, he carried up a gold medal that the society later presented to British physicist Stephen Hawking. This time, he told them, “what about something for you?”

The small slice of Newton’s apple tree they offered is “from THE apple tree, from the one that he was looking at when the apple fell down and he got the idea,” Sellers said. Written on the wood is “I-S-dot-Newton,” he said.

Sellers also is taking along a flag for the 2012 Olympics, to be held in London.

The Royal Society — the national academy of science of the United Kingdom — is marking its 350th year. As part of the celebration, the society in January made available online the 18th-century document detailing Newton’s account of the famous apple incident, which occurred in the 1600s.

Originally Published: May 7, 2010 at 3:04 PM MDT