PHYSICS GRAVITATION

Gravitation
 According to Newton, every object in this Universe attracts every other object with a certain force. This
force with which two objects attract each other is called gravitational force.

Force and Motion

 When a body moves along a circular path with a uniform speed, its motion is called uniform circular
motion.
 Examples: Motion of the Moon around the Earth, a cyclist moving in a circular track at constant speed
 A force acting on an object moving along a circle and directed towards the centre of the circle is called
centripetal force.

 If the mass of an object in circular motion is m, v is speed and r is the radius of the circular path, then
the centripetal force is given by
mv 2
F
r
As we know that a planet revolving around the is in circular orbit
distance travelled by a planet is = 2 r and its period of revolution = T
Thus speed of planet is given in following terms,
2r
speed (v) =
T
2
 2r 
m
2
T  4m2r
 
mv
F 
r r T2
Now multiplying and dividing by r 2,
4m2  r 3 
F  2 
r2 T 
According to Kepler's third law,
T2
 constant = K
r3
4m2
Thus, F  2
rK

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Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

• The planets move around the Sun in elliptical

Kepler's First Law orbits, with the Sun at one of the two foci of the
elliptical orbit.

• In an elliptical orbit of the planet, the line joining

the centre of the planet to the centre of the Sun
Kepler's Second Law sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of
time.

• The cube of the mean distance ‘r’ of a planet

from the Sun is directly proportional to the
Kepler's Third Law square of its orbital period 'T'.
• i.e. r3  T 2

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Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

 This law was given by Sir Isaac Newton.

Every object in the Universe attracts every other object with a force which is
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the
square of the distance between them.

 Consider two objects A and B of mass ‘M’ and ‘m’ separated by a distance ‘r’.

According to Newton’s law of gravitation, the force of attraction (F) between the two objects is given as
GMm
F 2
r
where, G is the proportionality constant known as the universal gravitation constant.
 SI unit of gravitational constant is Newton m2 kg−2.
 Universal gravitation constant ‘G’ is numerically equal to the gravitational force of attraction between
the two bodies, each of unit mass kept at unit distance from each other.
 The value of G is 6.67 × 10−11 Nm2/kg2.
 The universal law of gravitation successfully explained several phenomena such as the motion of the
Moon around the Earth, the motion of the planets around the Sun and the force which binds us to the
Earth.

Earth’s gravitational acceleration:

 We know that the Earth attracts every object towards it due to the gravitational force, and the centre of
mass of the Earth is situated at the centre.
 Thus, gravitational force on any object due to the Earth is directed to the centre of an object. Due to
this, an object falls vertically downwards.
 Similarly, when an object is thrown upwards, the same force is exerted on an object and reduces its
velocity.
 Acceleration due to gravity is denoted by ‘g’.
 Value of ‘g’ is 9.77 m/s2.

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 PHYSICS GRAVITATION

 Acceleration due to gravity is given by

GM
g 2
R
where, G- gravitational force constant
M- Mass of the Earth
R- Radius of the Earth
and as we go above the Earth’s surface at certain height r = R + h
 On the Moon, the value of acceleration due to gravity is 1/6th the value of g on the Earth.

Variation in the value of ‘g’: The value of g

a. Changes along the surface of the Earth: Distance between the poles and the centre of the Earth
is larger than that between the equator and the Earth’s centre. So, as the Earth is not exactly
spherical, the value of g is 9.832 m/s2, which is the highest at the poles and the lowest (9.78 m/s2)
at the equator.

b. Changes with height: As we go above the Earth’s surface, the value of r increases, and thus, the
value of g decreases.

c. Changes with depth: The value of g also changes if we go inside the Earth. So, in this case, the
value of r decreases and the value of g also decreases as the part of the Earth which contributes
towards the gravitational force experienced by the object decreases.

Mass and Weight

 Mass of an object is the measure of its inertia.

 The force with which an object is attracted towards the Earth is the weight (W) of the object. It is equal
to the product of mass (m) and acceleration due to gravity (g).
W = mg
 SI unit of weight is Newton, same as that of force.
 The weight of an object on the Moon is one-sixth its weight on the Earth.

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Differences between Mass and Weight

Mass Weight
1. Mass of a body is the quantity of 1. Weight of a body is the force with
matter contained in it. which the body is attracted towards
the centre of the Earth.
2. Mass of a body is a constant 2. Weight of a body varies from place
quantity. to place.
3. It is a scalar quantity. 3. It is a vector quantity.
4. SI unit of mass is kilogram (kg). 4. SI unit of weight is newton (N).

Free Fall

 For freely falling bodies, u = 0, a = g and s = h.

 Thus, equations of motion for freely falling bodies are

v = gt

h = (1/2) gt2

v2 = 2gh

 When an object falls towards the Earth under the influence of gravitational force alone, the object is
said to be in a state of free fall.
 The uniform acceleration produced in a freely falling body due to the gravitational force of the Earth is
known as acceleration due to gravity.
 During free fall, there is no change in the direction of motion of the object, but the magnitude of the
velocity of the falling object changes.

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Gravitational Potential Energy

 Energy stored in an object because of its position or state is called potential energy.
 This energy increases we go to greater heights from the surface of the Earth.
 When an object is placed on the ground, potential energy is zero.
 For h < R, g remains constant.
 For larger values of h, value of g decreases.
 For an object at infinity, g is zero, and the Earth’s gravitational force does not act on the object. So,
potential energy is zero at that point.
 For smaller heights, the value of potential energy is negative.
 When an object is at height h from the surface of the Earth, its potential energy is
G Mm

R h
where M is the mass and R is the radius of the Earth.

Escape velocity

 The velocity of an object thrown upwards decreases at a certain height. Its maximum height depends on its
initial velocity (u).
 When an object is thrown up, its final velocity (v) = 0 and a = −g.
According to Newton’s third equation of motion,
v2 = u2 + 2as
→ (0)2 = u2 + 2 (−g) s
u2
s =
2g
This equation states that higher the initial velocity u, larger is the height reached by the object.
If this initial velocity is increased, then after some value, an object will not be affected by the downward pull
of the Earth and will escape the Earth. Such velocity is called escape velocity.
For an object of mass m,

On the surface of the Earth At infinite distance from the Earth

1 2 Kinetic energy = 0
Kinetic energy = mv esc
2
GMm GMm
Potential energy =  Potential energy =  0
R 

1 2 GMm Total energy = E2 = 0

Total energy = E1 = KE + PE = mv esc 
2 R

 By the principle of conservation of energy,

E1 = E2

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1 GMm
 mv 2esc = -  0
2 R
2GM
 v 2esc =
R
2GM
 v esc =
R
GM
g
R2
 v esc = 2gR
By calculation,
v esc  11.2 km/s

Thus, to send spacecraft to the Moon or other planets, the initial velocity of the spacecraft is greater than its
escape velocity to overcome the Earth’s gravitational attraction.

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