The Universal Law of Gravitation

Sir Isaac Newton was the first to precisely describe gravity and demonstrate that it could explain both falling bodies and celestial motions. Newton, however, was not the first to hypothesise that the same force was responsible for both human weight and the motion of the planets. Galileo Galilei, his precursor, claimed that falling bodies and planetary motions were caused by the same thing. Some of Newton’s contemporaries, such as Robert Hooke, Christopher Wren, and Edmund Halley, had made advances toward a better understanding of gravity.

But it was Newton who proposed an accurate mathematical form and used it to illustrate that the motion of celestial bodies should be conic sections—circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas. This theoretical prediction was a big victory—it had been known for a long time that moons, planets, and comets follow certain routes, but no one had been able to explain why they did so and not others.

Gravitation

Gravitation is a force that claims that all objects on Earth and in space are attracted to one another. The gravitational force exerted on an object is proportional to its mass; the greater the mass of an object, the greater the gravitational force exerted on it by other objects. All visible items, such as a pen, eraser, planets, mobile phone, watch, and refrigerator, are attracted to one other in some way. With the Electromagnetic Force and the Nuclear Force, gravity is one of the non-contact forces.

Universal Law of Gravitation

Newton was motivated to discover the connection between falling bodies and celestial motions, according to early versions, when he watched an apple fall from a tree and thought that if the gravitational force could reach above the ground to a tree, it could also reach the Sun. The idea of Newton’s apple is a part of mythology all around the world, and it may or may not be true. It is held in high regard because Newton’s universal law of gravitation and laws of motion answered long-standing issues about nature and supported the idea of nature’s underlying simplicity and unity.

Scientists continue to hope that their continuous investigations into nature will reveal fundamental simplicity. The gravitational force is a straightforward force. It is always appealing, and its attractiveness is solely determined by the masses involved and the distance between them.

In modern language, Newton’s universal law of gravitation states that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle along a line connecting them with a force. The force they exert on each other is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to their separation.

Equation of Newton’s Law of Gravitation

Significance of Universal Law of Gravitation

This universal law of Gravitation paved the way for deeper investigation and understanding of how our universe works in conjunction with the existence of living things on planets. This equation is used by spacecraft to calculate various conclusions. Gravity is critical to our survival. It keeps us in orbit around the Sun, allowing us to receive heat and warmth. The air and the earth’s atmosphere are both held together by gravity. Black holes are places where the gravitational force’s power may be seen. Black holes consume everything, including light, and store it all in a tiny spot in their tail called the Singularity.

Conclusion

Every item in the world is drawn to it by a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their distance. This is known as the Gravitational Universal Law. This has a fascinating history and is the result of many scientists’ and mathematicians’ hard work and research.

Newton’s universal law of gravitation states that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle along a line connecting them with a force. The force between them is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their separation.