Gravity is the force that causes 2
masses to attract to each other
Because of gravity, dust particles attracted
towards each other, eventually forming
stars and galaxies.
Newton's law of gravitation
A particle with mass will generate a
gravitational field around it. A
particle that has a mass will feel a
force when in this gravitational field
Unlike electric fields,
gravitational fields are
always attractive
The force experienced (F) by an object in a
gravitational field is the product of its
mass (m) and the gravitational field
strength (g)
We can use newtons 2nd law (f=ma) to
create an equation where we can find the
acceleration of a particle inside a
gravitational field
Newton then came up with an
equation to calculate the gravitational
force between 2 massive particles (f),
separated a distance r, between their
centres of gravity
Gravitational Field Strength
A Gravitational field is produced radially
around a point mass. The further away
from the mass, the greater the strength
of the field. This leads to there being
regions in space where there is 0 gravity
We can use newton's law of
gravitation to derive an
equation for the gravitational
field strength.
Gravitational Potential
Gravitational potential is the amount
of work done to move an object to a
certain point in a gravitational field.