Nit: "as Newton put it, inertia is why an object at rest tends to stay at rest." No, what Newton said is that an object in motion tends to continue in motion at the same velocity (and an object at rest tends to remain at rest, i.e. with velocity=0).
While this doesn't have a lot to do with the original article (hence my "nit"), it was revolutionary at Newton's time. People had observed objects at rest staying there; that's why you can sit on a chair. But they had also observed that any object in motion (except for those in the sky) slowed down and eventually stopped, unless you kept pushing them. Newton attributed this to friction.
This theory--which contradicted what people could plainly observe with their eyes--is what makes possible satellites (and keeps the moon in orbit), since being outside the atmosphere, they experience very little friction. Of course the other thing necessary for man-made satellites is a way to get them moving fast enough, for which Newton's third law comes in handy (it's why rockets accelerate, even outside the atmosphere).
While this doesn't have a lot to do with the original article (hence my "nit"), it was revolutionary at Newton's time. People had observed objects at rest staying there; that's why you can sit on a chair. But they had also observed that any object in motion (except for those in the sky) slowed down and eventually stopped, unless you kept pushing them. Newton attributed this to friction.
This theory--which contradicted what people could plainly observe with their eyes--is what makes possible satellites (and keeps the moon in orbit), since being outside the atmosphere, they experience very little friction. Of course the other thing necessary for man-made satellites is a way to get them moving fast enough, for which Newton's third law comes in handy (it's why rockets accelerate, even outside the atmosphere).