PHYSICS 3 (GENERAL PHYSICS I)

Centripetal Force and Newton’s Law of

Gravitation
Centripetal Force
CENTRIPETAL FORCE
 Centripetal Force is a force that tends to keep object
in moving around a circular arc or path
 The magnitude of the centripetal force is the product
of an object’s mass and its centripetal acceleration as
it moves around the circular path
 The direction of the centripetal force is always
directed towards the center of the circle.
 RECALL: Centripetal acceleration
 An object traveling in a
circle, even though it moves
with a constant speed, will
have an acceleration (since
velocity changes direction)
 This acceleration is called
centripetal (“center-
seeking”).
 The acceleration is directed
toward the center of the
circle of motion
 Centripetal acceleration and the angular
velocity

 The angular velocity and the linear

velocity are related (v = ωr)
 The centripetal acceleration can
also be related to the angular
velocity Similar triangles
v r
Lengths of the sides v  r
v r v
  v  r , since
v r r
v v r v2
a  a Thus: aC  or aC   2 r
t r t r
Forces Causing Centripetal Acceleration
 Newton’s Second Law says that the
centripetal acceleration is accompanied
by a force 2
v
 F  maC  m r
F stands for any force that keeps an
object following a circular path
 Force of friction (level and banked curves)
 Tension in a string
 Gravity
CENTRIPETAL FORCE

Net inward force to provide centripetal

acceleration
Due to contact and/or gravitational forces

F
F
F

F
Direction:
towards the center
 SOME EXAMPLES

For an object sitting on a rotating turntable, the

centripetal force is friction.

For a rock whirled on the end of a string, the

centripetal force is the force of tension in the string.

For the motion of the Earth around the Sun, the

centripetal force is gravity.
Example
 A small object of mass m is suspended from a
string of length L. The object revolves with constant
speed v in a horizontal circle of radius r. Find an
expression for v.
 Example a:

1. Draw a free body diagram,

Given: introduce coordinate frame and
consider vertical and horizontal
String length: L projections
radius: r

Find:

1. v=?


v2 T cos  v 2 rgT sin 

T sin   m T sin    v2 rg (tan   v 2
r g r T cos 
Newton’s Law of
Gravitation
For the motion of the Earth around the
Sun, the centripetal force is gravity.

1. Why are planets, moons and the

sun all nearly spherical?
2. Why do some of the earth
satellites circle the earth in 90
minutes while the moon takes 27
days for the trip?
3. Why don’t satellites fall back the
earth?
 Phenomenon of attraction between objects.
 Modern physics describes gravitation using
Einstein’s general theory of relativity, but the
much simpler Newton’s Laws of Universal
gravitation provides an excellent
approximation in many cases.
RECALL : Newton’s Third Law
 If two objects interact, the force F12 exerted by
object 1 on object 2 is equal in magnitude but
opposite in direction to the force F21 exerted
by object 2 on object 1.
 Equivalent to saying a single isolated force cannot
exist
Example: Newton’s Third Law
 Consider collision of
two spheres
 F12 may be called the
action force and F21 the
reaction force
 Actually, either force can
be the action or the
reaction force
 The action and
reaction forces act on
different objects
 Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
 Every particle in the Universe attracts every other
particle with a force that is directly proportional
to the product of the masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance
between them.

m1m 2
F G 2
r
 G is the universal gravitational constant
 G = 6.673 x 10-11 N m² /kg²
 This is an example of an inverse square law
Gravitation Constant
 Determined experimentally
 Henry Cavendish
 1798
 The light beam and mirror serve to amplify
the motion
 GRAVITATION
 The reason for the very existence of most
macroscopic objects in the universe
 1. Heavenly Bodies Kept in Orbit
 2. Heating the interiors of forming stars and planes
to very high temperatures
 3. Tides
 4. Rising of Hot Air/Sinking of Cold Air
(Convection) and other similar phenomenon
 5. Keeping us in our toes!!!
JUMBO JUMBO
 Find the gravitational force exerted by the Sun on the
Earth.
 Me=6.0x1024kg;
 Ms=2x1030 kg;
 Res=1.5x108m;
 G = 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2

 Ans.3.56 x1028 N
Applications of Universal Gravitation :
Mass of the Earth
 Use an example of an object
close to the surface of the
earth

 r ~ RE
Gme m1
Fg  2
 m1 g
re
GM E m1 Assumption:
m1 g 
RE 2 RE + h  RE
2
gR
ME  E
G
Gravitational Acceleration

h m Assumption:

re Re + h  Re

Gme m Gme m
Fg   mg
Fg  2
 mg
re

me
2
re
Gme
g 2
re
Applications of Universal Gravitation:
Acceleration Due to Gravity

 g will vary with altitude

mM E  ME 
F  G 2  mG 2   mg
r  r 

ME
g G 2
r
Thus:
 Weight is not an inherent property of an
object
 mass is an inherent property

 Weight depends upon location

Weight
 The magnitude of the gravitational force acting
on an object of mass m near the Earth’s
surface is called the weight w of the object
 w = m g is a special case of Newton’s Second Law
 g can also be found from the Law of Universal
Gravitation
Applications of Universal Gravitation:
Motion of Satellite
 The path of a satellite is an ellipse.
 Circle is an ellipse with equal length of semi-major
and semi- minor axis.
Gme m v2
Fg  2
 ma  m
re r
r
Gme
v
r
Escape Speed

 The escape speed is the speed needed for an

object to soar off into space and not return
2GM E
vesc 
RE

 For the earth, vesc is about 11.2 km/s

 Note, v is independent of the mass of the object
Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation
“Every particle in the universe
attracts every other particle with a
force that is directly proportional
to the product of the masses of the
particles and inversely proportional
to the square of the distance
between them.”
Example

Question: Calculate gravitational attraction between two

students 1 meter apart. Assume the student 1 has a mass of
70 kg while the other one has a mass of 90 kg.
2
m1m2 11 N m 70kg 90kg
F G  6.67 10
1 m 
2 2
r kg 2

7
F  4.2 10 N
Extremely small
compared to the
weight (F = mg).