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Gravitation
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6-1 Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

If the force of gravity is being exerted on
objects on Earth, what is the origin of that
force?
Newton’s realization was
that the force must come
from the Earth.
He further realized that
this force must be what
keeps the Moon in its
orbit.
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Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Therefore, the gravitational force must be proportional to both
masses.
By observing planetary orbits, Newton also concluded that the
gravitational force must decrease as the inverse of the square of the
distance between the masses.
In its final form, the law of universal gravitation reads:
where
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Law of Universal Gravitation

Every object attracts every other object with an
attractive force which is directly proportional to the
masses and inversely proportional to the square of
the separation between them

F = gravitational force(N)
m = mass of object(kg)
r = separation between objects(m)
G = universal gravitation constant
Gm1m2
F  2
r
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Kepler’s First Law

• The orbits of the planets are elliptical (not circular) with
the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.
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Kepler's Second Law

A line connecting the Sun and a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal
times.

faster
slower

Translation: planets move faster when closer to the

Sun.
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Recall that the external net torque on a system

equals the time rate of change of
angular momentum of the system; that is,.
Therefore, because torque is zero , the
angular momentum L of the planet is a constant of the
motion:
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Kepler's Third Law

The square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its

semi-major axis.

T2 is proportional to R3

Translation: The further the planet is from

the sun, the longer the period.
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At what point in an elliptical orbit does a planet have

the greatest speed?
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Circular Motion & Satellites

(a) What is the velocity of moon orbiting the Earth ? The
moon is 242,000 miles from earth. (b) What is the period of
the moon’s rotation about the Earth ?

g Fcentripetal = Fgravity
Fc mv2/r = mg
Earth
moon V2/r = g
v = (r x g )1/2
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Gravitational Field Strength ‘g’

M r
GMm
F  2
From Newton’s 2nd Law
r
F = mg
g = acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)

F GM
g  g  2
m r
g = gravitational field strength (N/kg)
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Gravitational Potential V
In general For a radial field

V GM
g V 
r r
ΔV = potential difference(J/kg) V = gravitational potential at a distance
r from mass M

A Point in space has Potential

An Object placed there has Potential Energy
Potential Energy = potential x mass

GMm
EP 
r
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That is, the gravitational potential energy

associated with any
pair of particles of masses m1 and m2
separated by a distance r is
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Escape Velocity
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TOTAL ENERGY OF THE SYSTEM

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Calculate the escape speed from the Earth for a 5 000-kg

spacecraft, and determine the kinetic energy it must have at
the Earth’s surface in order to move infinitely far away from
the Earth.
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Calculate the escape speed from the Earth for a 5 000-kg

spacecraft, and determine the kinetic energy it must have at
the Earth’s surface in order to move infinitely far away from
the Earth.
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