Overview
Universal gravitation is a fundamental concept in physics that explains how masses attract each other. Formulated by Sir Isaac Newton, it describes the gravitational force as being proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This p...
Key Terms
Example: The gravitational force between Earth and the Moon keeps the Moon in orbit.
Example: A rock has a mass of 5 kg.
Example: A 5 kg rock weighs about 49 N on Earth.
Example: F = G(m1*m2)/r².
Example: The distance between Earth and the Moon is about 384,400 km.
Example: The International Space Station is a satellite of Earth.
Related Topics
Kepler's Laws
Laws that describe the motion of planets around the Sun.
intermediateNewton's Laws of Motion
Three laws that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it.
intermediateBlack Holes
Regions in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing can escape from them.
advancedKey Concepts
Gravitational ForceMassDistanceNewton's Law of Gravitation