Teach Time Encyclopedia - Learn About Our World
Home Page
Teach Time
Featured Topics

United States
by state

CITYology

Academic Disciplines

Historical Timelines

Themed Timelines

Calendars

Reference Tables

Biographies

How-tos



Saturday, October 11, 2008

Law of Universal Gravitation

The Law of Universal Gravitation explains that gravitational force decreases with distance. In addition, the theory notes that the greater an object's mass, the greater its gravitational force. Newton published his argument in Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687). It is important to note that Newton was not "inventing" or "discovering" gravity; he was merely defining it mathematically. Newton would use universal graviation, along with his laws of motion, to substantiate Kepler's laws of planetary motion.

  • Every object in the Universe attracts every other object with a force directed along the line of centers for the two objects that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the separation between the two objects.
  • Two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Strictly speaking, this law applies only to point-like objects. If the objects have spatial extent, the true force has to be found by integrating the forces between the various points.

where:
  • F = gravitational force between two objects
  • m1 = mass of first object
  • m2 = mass of second object
  • r = distance between the objects
  • G = universal constant of gravitation


Internet Hotel Solutions

Site Sponsors
AC Units
Baltimore Harbor
Boot Camp Grads
Bra Size
Burkittsville
College Hotels
Digital Harbor
Free Cell Phones
Golden Hare Travel
Golf Vacations
Golf Courses
Gourmet
Hair Styles
Hippodrome
iWoman
Lesson Plans
Maryland Hotels
MD Genealogy
Minor League Stuff
Motel Site
Ocean City
OC Real Estate
Old Agers
Office Supplies
Orlando
Pet Friendly Hotel
Room Prices
Savannah, GA
Ski Vacations
South Baltimore
Student Teaching
Travel Sources
University Hotels
Visit Military Bases
Washington, DC

Brought to you by NoChildLeftBehind.com and the Beaches and Towns Network, LLC.