Author: Physics Notebook

Let us consider two points A and B lying very near to each other at a distance in a gravitational field acting in the direction from B to A as shown in the adjoining fig. Let the potential at A is and at B is . The work done in moving a unit mass from…

Gravitational potential: The amount of work done in bringing a unit mass from infinity to any point in the gravitational field is called the gravitational potential at that point. Gravitational potential due to a point mass: Let the gravitational field is created due to a particle of mass at point O. Let us calculate the…

Gravitational Intensity: Gravitational intensity at a point in a gravitational field is defined as the attractive force experienced by a unit mass placed at that point. The gravitational intensity at a point which is at a distance from a mass is , where is the gravitational constant. The dimension of intensity is

Gravitational Field: The region of space around a body within which its gravitational force of attraction can be experienced is called the gravitational field. Mathematically it is extended to infinity. Practically its effect is limited to some extend.

The universality of the law of gravitation Newton’s law of gravitation is equally valid for anybody whether it is small or large. This law does not depend on the states of the two bodies (solid, liquid, or gas), their chemical composition, their temperature, the intermediating medium. This law is valid in case of a small…

Characteristics of gravitational force : Since the gravitational force act along the line joining the particles, it is a central force and so gravitational field is conservative. Gravitational force is only attractive force, it is not a repulsive force and it varies as the inverse square of the distance between the two particles. The value…

Gravitational Constant (G): If and are the two masses of two bodies respectively separated by a distance r, the force of attraction F along the line joining the centres of the two bodies is Where G is the constant of proportionality and is called the Gravitational Constant. If and then . Therefore the gravitational constant…

Newton’s Law of Gravitation : This law states that everybody in the universe attracts 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. The force of attraction acts along the line joining the centres of the two bodies.…