ASTRON 1F03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Circular Motion, Centripetal Force, Electromagnetic Spectrum
18 Dec 2015
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Newton"s universal law of gravity m1 m2 r 2. G 6. 67 x 10-11 m3/kgs (s. i) M terms are the two masses. r is the separation distance. The acceleration for all objects due to a mass, m1, is independent of their own mass, m2. This fits galileo"s theory of gravity on earth. Acceleration, g, is a constant at earth"s surface. Orbits are one body falling around another. The less massive object is a satellite of the more massive object. A cannonball fired at just the right speed would keep falling around earth, never hitting the ground. The earth attempts to fall toward the sun but it misses due to its forward motion and instead follows a nearly circular path. Astronauts float freely in a space shuttle because they and the shuttle are both falling at the same rate around earth. Gravity provides the centripetal force that holds a satellite in its orbit.
