Law Of Universal Gravitation Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Law Of Universal Gravitation?
The Law of Universal Gravitation is a fundamental law of physics that states that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This fundamental law was first proposed by Isaac Newton in his 1687 publication Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, and has since been confirmed by countless experiments. The Law of Universal Gravitation explains both why objects are attracted toward each other, as well as why they orbit one another. It can be used to explain why planets are held in orbit around stars, such as our sun, and why galaxies rotate around each other. It also explains how tides work when two large masses interact gravitationally, it creates a bulging effect on one side of an object due to tidal gravitational forces. These bulges are what causes high and low tides on Earth’s oceans. In addition to explaining the principles behind orbital mechanics, the Law of Universal Gravitation also serves as a foundation for many other fields of physics such as cosmology and astrophysics. By understanding how gravity works on an inter-particle level, scientists can develop models for larger scale phenomena such as black holes or dark matter/energy distributions throughout space. The Law Of Universal Gravitation is widely accepted by scientists today because it accurately describes motion on both small scales (such as atoms) and large scales (such as galaxies). Its mathematical equation unifies all objects across space with one universal force gravity making it one of the most important laws in physics today.