- The document discusses Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that every object with mass attracts every other object with mass, with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
- It provides the equation for gravitational force and defines the terms. Gravity follows an inverse-square law, meaning doubling the distance between objects reduces the gravitational force to one-fourth.
- Examples are given to demonstrate calculating gravitational force between objects of different masses at varying distances, as well as the gravitational force between celestial bodies like planets and moons.
- The document discusses Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that every object with mass attracts every other object with mass, with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
- It provides the equation for gravitational force and defines the terms. Gravity follows an inverse-square law, meaning doubling the distance between objects reduces the gravitational force to one-fourth.
- Examples are given to demonstrate calculating gravitational force between objects of different masses at varying distances, as well as the gravitational force between celestial bodies like planets and moons.
- The document discusses Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that every object with mass attracts every other object with mass, with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
- It provides the equation for gravitational force and defines the terms. Gravity follows an inverse-square law, meaning doubling the distance between objects reduces the gravitational force to one-fourth.
- Examples are given to demonstrate calculating gravitational force between objects of different masses at varying distances, as well as the gravitational force between celestial bodies like planets and moons.
- The document discusses Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that every object with mass attracts every other object with mass, with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
- It provides the equation for gravitational force and defines the terms. Gravity follows an inverse-square law, meaning doubling the distance between objects reduces the gravitational force to one-fourth.
- Examples are given to demonstrate calculating gravitational force between objects of different masses at varying distances, as well as the gravitational force between celestial bodies like planets and moons.
object with mass. – Newton realized that the force of attraction between two massive objects: • Increases as the mass of the objects increases. • Decreases as the distance between the objects increases. Law of Universal Gravitation M 1M 2 • FG = G r2 • G = Gravitational Constant G = 6.67x10-11 N*m2/kg2 • M1 and M2 = the mass of two bodies • r = the distance between them • FG is a vector Law of Universal Gravitation • is an inverse-square law: – If the distance doubles, the force drops to 1/4. – If the distance triples, the force drops to 1/9. – Distance x 10 = FG / 100. Law of Universal Gravitation
M1 and M2 = 10 kg
8E-11 Gravitational Force (N)
7E-11 6E-11 5E-11 4E-11 3E-11 2E-11 1E-11 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance (m) Law of Universal Gravitation • Jimmy is attracted to Betty. Jimmy’s mass is 90.0 kg and Betty’s mass is 57.0 kg. If Jim is standing 10.0 meters away from Betty, what is the gravitational force between them? – FG = GM1M2 / r2 – FG = (6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg2)(90.0 kg)(57.0 kg) / (10.0 m)2 – FG = (3.42x10-7 Nm2) / (100. m2) – FG = 3.42x10-9 N = 3.42 nN Law of Universal Gravitation • The Moon is attracted to the Earth. The mass of the Earth is 6.0x1024 kg and the mass of the Moon is 7.4x1022 kg. If the Earth and Moon are 345,000 km apart, what is the gravitational force between them? – FG = GM1M2 / r2
– FG = (6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg2) (6.0x1024 kg)(7.4x1022 kg) (3.45x108 m)2 – FG = 2.49x1020 N Gravity Example How hard do two planets pull on each other if their masses are 1.23 1026 kg and 5.21 1022 kg and they 230 million kilometers apart?
G m1 m2 FG = r2
(6.67 · 10-11 N·m2 / kg2) (1.23 · 1026 kg) (5.21 · 1022 kg) = (230 · 103 · 106 m) 2
= 8.08 · 1015 N
This is the force each planet exerts on the other. Note the denominator is has a factor of 103 to convert to meters and a factor of 106 to account for the million. It doesn’t matter which way or how fast the planets are moving. 3rd Law: Action-Reaction In the last example the force on each planet is the same. This is due to to Newton’s third law of motion: the force on Planet 1 due to Planet 2 is just as strong but in the opposite direction as the force on Planet 2 due to Planet 1. The effects of these forces are not the same, however, since the planets have different masses.
For the big planet: a = (8.08 · 1015 N) / (1.23 · 1026 kg)
= 6.57 · 10-11 m/s2.
For the little planet: a = (8.08 · 1015 N) / (5.21 · 1022 kg)
= 1.55 · 10-7 m/s2.
8.08 · 1015 N 8.08 · 1015 N
5.21 1.23 · 1026 kg · 1022 kg Calculating the Gravitational Constant In 1798 Sir Henry Cavendish suspended a rod with two small masses (red) from a thin wire. Two larger mass (green) attract the small masses and cause the wire to twist slightly, since each force of attraction produces a torque in the same direction. By varying the masses and measuring the separations and the amount of twist, Cavendish was the first to calculate G.
Since G is only 6.67 · 10-11 N·m2 / kg2, the measurements had to be very precise. Calculating the mass of the Earth Knowing G, we can now actually calculate the mass of the Earth. All we do is write the weight of any object in two different ways and equate them. Its weight is the force of gravity between it and the Earth, which is FG in the equation below. ME is the mass of the Earth, RE is the radius of the Earth, and m is the mass of the object. The object’s weight can also be written as mg.
G m1 m2 G ME m FG = r2 = RE 2 = mg
The m’s cancel in the last equation. g can be measured experimentally; Cavendish determined G’s value; and RE can be calculated at 6.37 · 106 m (see next slide). ME is the only unknown. Solving for ME we have:
g RE 2 ME = = 5.98 · 1024 kg G Net Force Gravity Problem 3 106 kg 3 asteroids are positioned as shown, forming a right triangle. Find the net force on the 2.5 million kg asteroid. 40 m
2.7 106 kg 2.5 106 kg
60 m
Steps: 1. Find each force of gravity on it and draw in the vectors. 2. Find the angle at the lower right. 3. One force vector is to the left; break the other one down into components. 4. Find the resultant vector: magnitude via Pythagorean theorem; direction via inverse tangent.
answer: 0.212 N at 14.6 above horizontal (N of W)
Nonuniform Gravitational Fields Near Earth’s surface the gravitational field is approximately uniform. Far from the surface it looks more like a sea urchin.
The field lines
• are radial, rather than parallel, and point toward center of Earth. • get farther apart farther from the surface, meaning the field is weaker there. • get closer together closer to Earth the surface, meaning the field is stronger there. Gravitational Field • Gravitational field – an area of influence surrounding a massive body. – Field strength = acceleration due to gravity (g). • g = GM / r2 – Notice that field strength does not depend on the mass of a second object. – GM1M2/r2 = M2g = FG = Fw, • So gravity causes mass to have weight. The field strength is measured in N/kg =m/s2 Gravitational Field Strength • The mass of the Earth is 6.0x1024 kg and its radius is 6378 km. What is the gravitational field strength at Earth’s surface? – g = GM/r2 – g = (6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg2)(6.0x1024 kg) / (6.378x106 m)2 – g = 9.8 N/Kg • A planet has a radius of 3500 km and a surface gravity of 3.8 m/s2. What is the mass of the planet? – (3.8 m/s2) = (6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg2)(M) / (3.5x106 m)2 – (3.8 m/s2) = (6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg2)(M) / (1.2x1013 m2) – (4.6x1013 m3/s2) = (6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg2)(M) – M = 6.9x1023 kg Variations in Gravitational Field Strength
