Gravitation

• Every object with mass attracts every other

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