What is the Universal Law of Gravitation?
According to the Universal Law of Gravitation, every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass in the universe by a force pointing in a straight line between their centres of mass, and this force is equal to the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to their difference. From one point to the next, this attractive force often points inward.
This law applies to all objects with weights, no matter how large or small they are. If the difference between two massive objects is very large in comparison to their sizes or if they are spherically symmetric, they may be called point-like masses. In these cases, each object’s mass may be measured by a point mass at its centre of mass.
Definition of Universal Law of Gravitation
Every point mass attracts every other point mass by a force acting along the line intersecting both points. This force is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.”
Mathematically, this law is expressed as:
F = G (m1 ⨯ m2) / r2
Universal Law of Gravitation
Universal Law of Gravitation or Newton’s law of Universal Gravitation as the name suggests is given by Sir Isaac Newton. This law helps us to understand the motion of very large bodies in the universe. According to this law, an attractive force always acts between two bodies that have masses. The strength of the force is directly proportional to the mass of the object and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
In this article, you are going to read about everything related to Universal Law of Gravitation including its definition, what Gravitational Law states, weight vs. Gravitational Force, etc.
Table of Content
- What is the Universal Law of Gravitation?
- Universal Gravitation Equation
- Vector Form of Universal Law of Gravitation
- Principle of Superposition of Gravitational Forces
- Newton’s Law of Gravitation from Kepler’s Law
- Weight and Gravitational Force
- Universality of Gravity
- Importance of Universal law of Gravitation
- Solved Examples
- FAQs