Gravitation and Gravity

In Physics, the terms gravitation and gravity are extremely similar. In the majority of circumstances, these two terms are interchangeable.. Despite the fact that these two words sound similar, there is a variation between gravitation and gravity. Gravity is the active connection between two bodies. Gravity, on the other hand, is the force that occurs between an object and the earth, which is a very huge thing. Gravitation can alternatively be defined as a force proportional to the product of both objects’ masses. It’s also inversely proportional to the square of their separation. Gravity is commonly thought of as a natural attribute of the earth, owing to which objects are drawn to it.

Gravity

Gravity, often called Gravitational Force, is the universal force of attraction that keeps things together. It is the force that keeps us on the ground and prevents us from flying into space. Gravity is required for the Earth’s and Universe’s systems to function, despite the fact that we rarely think about it in our daily lives. Gravity is an all-pervasive universal force that pulls a body towards the Earth’s centre or any other mass-bearing physical body.

The net acceleration caused in objects by the gravitational and centrifugal forces resulting from the earth’s rotation is known as the earth’s gravity (g). The acceleration on an item caused by gravity of any heavy body is indicated by the letter ‘g.’ It varies depending on where you are. The acceleration owing to the earth’s gravity has been calculated to be 9.8 m/s2.

Gravity is a Weak Force

Among the four fundamental universal laws that govern the universe, gravity is the weakest. Gravity is 1040 (that’s the number 1 followed by 40 zeros) times weaker than electromagnetic, according to scientists’ calculations.

This is precisely why measuring the gravitational effect on everyday objects is so challenging. On vast scales like planets, moons, stars, and galaxies, the impacts are vividly visible.

As a result, whereas gravity’s effects are easily observable on a cosmological scale (stars, planets, galaxies), measuring gravity’s effect on daily objects is challenging.

Examples of Gravity

All objects are affected by gravity in the same way. If you drop a feather and a penny into a vacuum tube, they will both descend at the same rate. Gravity plays a role in this.

Gravity holds the gases in the Sun together.

Similarly, the existence of gravity causes an atmosphere to form around the earth’s surface.

Tides in the ocean are caused by the force of attraction, or gravity, between the earth and the moon.

The moon revolves around the earth, while the earth revolves around the Sun, due to gravity.

Gravitational Potential

The work done to get an object of unit mass from infinity to a location in a gravitational field can be defined as the gravitational potential at that point. It is provided by,

 V=Work doneTest mass= -GM/r

Gravitation

Every thing in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force known as gravity. One of the four types of interactions that occur in nature is gravitation. They are as follows:

• The Gravitational Force
• The Electromagnetic Force
• The Strong Nuclear Force (also known as the Hadronic Force)
• The weak Nuclear Forces

Newton’s Law of Gravitation

It says that the gravitational attraction between two masses in the universe is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their distance, i.e., where G is a constant known as the universal gravitational constant.

Hence newton’s law of gravitation is given by :

 F∝m1m2 and F∝1/r2

 F=Gm1m2r2

Here G is the gravitational constant

Gravitational Constant (G)

It’s the same as the gravitational force between two objects. The centres of the two items are separated by a unit distance, and each object has a mass unit. In the cosmos, the value of G is constant. It’s a scalar number with the SI unit of G=6.67 ×10-11Nm2kg-2.

Acceleration Due to Gravitation

It is defined as the acceleration that an object experiences when it falls freely under the influence of gravity alone. It’s a quantity with a vector. The (g) value varies with height, depth, and the earth’s rotation.

At the earth’s centre, the value of (g) is zero.

On the surface of the earth, the acceleration due to gravity (g)is 9.8 ms2.

Conclusion

In Physics, the terms gravitation and gravity are extremely similar. Gravity is the active connection between two bodies. Gravitation can alternatively be defined as a force proportional to the product of both objects’ masses. It is inversely proportional to their distance squared. Gravity, often called Gravitational Force, is the universal force of attraction that keeps things together. It is the force that keeps us on the ground and prevents us from flying into space. The net acceleration caused in objects by the gravitational and centrifugal forces resulting from the earth’s rotation is known as the earth’s gravity (g).  The acceleration owing to the earth’s gravity has been calculated to be 9.8 m/s2.