Gravitation

PHYSICS

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Gravitation

Definition
Force of Gravitation: Every object in this universe is attracted to each other
by a strange force of attraction known as the force of Gravitation.
Any two masses will experience this force and it is the weakest force among all
forces (Strong force, weak force, Electromagnetic force & Gravitational force)

Newton’s Law of Gravitation

Gravitational force
In the year 1686, Sir Isaac Newton proposed the universal law of gravitation, which
stated that the force of attraction between any objects in the universe is directly
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between them. This is known as Newton’s law of gravitation.

Let’s consider two bodies A and B with mass M & m, where r be the distance between
two masses, i.e.,

Here G is Universal gravitational constant (G = 6.67×1011 N-m2/kg2) and it’s unit and
dimensions are Nm2/kg2 and [M-1L3T-2] respectively.

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Acceleration Due to Gravity (g)

 Whenever an object is subjected by an external force it will accelerate and its rate of
acceleration is directly proportional to external force (∵ F = ma)

 Similarly, when an object is attracted by gravitational force it will be accelerated

towards the surface of the heavier mass, such acceleration due to gravity is known
as acceleration due to gravity (g).

 Acceleration due to gravity is directly proportional to Heavier mass (mass of planet

M) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

 S.I unit of gravitation is given as m/s 2

Variation of gravitational acceleration (g)

From the above expression, we can see that acceleration due to gravitation g depends
upon distance at which it is measured hence the variation of g can be given as

Factor affecting g Explanation

Since ,where R is the radius of planet and h is the height

Variation of g at
from its surface which means that as we move away from the surface
some height (h)
its gravitational acceleration will decrease exponentially.

Now as we move below the surface the variation of gravitational

acceleration gd can be expressed as

Variation of g at where R is the radius of the planet, g is the acceleration due to gravity
some depth (d) on the surface, and gd is the acceleration due to gravity at some depth,
and d is the depth from its surface. This shows that as we move below
the planet's surface it will gradually decrease and become zero at
planets core.

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Because of earth’s rotation, the value of acceleration due to gravity is

maximum at poles and minimum equator, and it is given by equation:

Variation of g at here gθ is acceleration due to gravity at any place on planet, ω is

poles and equator angular velocity of planet and θ is angle from equator
Therefore
At equator, θ = 0°, cos θ = 1, gθ = g – Rω2
At pole, θ = 90°, cos θ = 0, gθ = g

We generally consider the earth to be a uniform sphere, but the earth is

Variation of g due to
not uniform throughout the entire surface hence the value of g varies
non-uniformity of
due to non-uniformity of the earth (i.e., because of variation in earth’s
planet
density)

Fig: Variation of g with respect to distance from Centre of Earth

Q. When a body is taken from the equator to the pole at 30° from equator what
will be the effective gravity if at the pole it is measured to be 9.8 m/s2. Will it be
greater at pole or equator?

A. Given that,
At pole g = 9.8 m/s2
θ = 30°

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Now effective gravity of an object is given as

Hence from this, we can see that at pole acceleration due to gravity would be greater.

Gravitational Field and Gravitational

potential & Gravitational potential
energy

Gravitational field
 It is defined as that space around which any other mass is affected by the
Gravitational force of attraction.
 And the intensity of the gravitational field at any point is given as
 Its SI unit is N/kg.

Gravitational Potential
 Gravitational potential at any point inside the gravitational field is equal to work done
in bringing a unit mass from infinite distance to a certain distance r from its center.

 Thus, it can be expressed as

 Here V is gravitational potential, G is gravitational constant, M is mass of the planet

and r is the distance between Mass M and some other object brought from an infinite
distance

Gravitational Potential energy

The gravitational potential energy at any point can be defined as work done in bringing a
body of mass m from infinite distance to its present location. Hence gravitational
potential energy of mass M and m at some distance r can be expressed as

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Hence gravitational potential energy of mass M and m at some distance R on the

surface of the planet

Q. A mass ‘m’ on the surface of the Earth is shifted to a target equal to the radius
of the Earth. If ‘R’ is the radius and ‘M’ is the mass of the Earth, then find the
work done in this process.

A. Given that:

The mass is shifted from earth’s surface to height h;

So initial height (h) = 0
Final height (h’) = R
Initial gravitational potential energy
Initial gravitational potential energy
Work done, (W) = Change in potential energy,
Since,

G M = g R2
Work done,

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary motion

Now let's just consider the laws governing the motion of celestial bodies like planets,
Sun and other such objects.

In the 16th Century to explain the motion of planets, A German scientist Johannes
Kepler first proposed his three laws of motion which were later termed as
Kepler’s law of planetary motion.

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Kepler’s First law

Kepler’s first law states that every planet

revolves around the Sun in an elliptical
orbit whereas Sun is situated at one of its
two foci as shown besides.
An ellipse traced out by a planet around
the sun. The closest point is P and the
farthest point is A. P is called the
perihelion and A the aphelion. The semi-
major axis is half the distance AP.

Besides is a diagram of drawing an ellipse. A

string has its ends fixed at F1 and F2. The tip
of a pencil holds the string taut and is moved
around. Here F1 and F2 are two foci of an
elliptical orbit and 2a and 2b are the distance
of semi-major and semi-minor axis of ellipse
respectively.

Kepler’s Second law

Kepler’s second law states that the line

that joins any planet to the sun sweeps
equal areas in equal intervals of
time. This law comes from the
observations that planets appear to
move slower when they are farther from
the sun than when they are nearer.

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Kepler’s Third law

According to Kepler’s third law of motion, the square of the time period of
revolution of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of the ellipse
traced out by the planet.
Let’s consider first for circular orbit since it's easy to grasp compared to an elliptical
orbit. The time period of a satellite,

Using this we can say that for an elliptical orbit time period of the satellite is given as
given below

Where,
Length of semi-major axis = a, The time period of the planet = T
Kepler’s constant =

Q. Normally earth takes certain time T to complete one revolution around sun
with radius R if the radius is increased to four times of its initial value what can
we say about its new time taken for completing one rotation.
A. Now let,
The initial time is taken for one complete revolution = T1
The initial distance between the earth and sun = R
Given that the distance between earth and sun after some time T2 = 4R
Now according to Kepler’s third relation between time period and radius can be given

as T2 ∝ R3 . Now dividing (T2)2 w.r.t to (T1)2 we get,

Thus, T2 = 8T1

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