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Force of attraction is a force that pulls the body near due to its attraction. The formula for the force of attraction and related examples.
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- Early concepts
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gravity, in mechanics, the universal force of attraction acting between all matter. It is by far the weakest known force in nature and thus plays no role in determining the internal properties of everyday matter. On the other hand, through its long reach and universal action, it controls the trajectories of bodies in the solar system and elsewhere in the universe and the structures and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the whole cosmos. On Earth all bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which Earth’s mass exerts on them. Gravity is measured by the acceleration that it gives to freely falling objects. At Earth’s surface the acceleration of gravity is about 9.8 metres (32 feet) per second per second. Thus, for every second an object is in free fall, its speed increases by about 9.8 metres per second. At the surface of the Moon the acceleration of a freely falling body is about 1.6 metres per second per second.
The works of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein dominate the development of gravitational theory. Newton’s classical theory of gravitational force held sway from his Principia, published in 1687, until Einstein’s work in the early 20th century. Newton’s theory is sufficient even today for all but the most precise applications. Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts only minute quantitative differences from the Newtonian theory except in a few special cases. The major significance of Einstein’s theory is its radical conceptual departure from classical theory and its implications for further growth in physical thought.
Newton argued that the movements of celestial bodies and the free fall of objects on Earth are determined by the same force. The classical Greek philosophers, on the other hand, did not consider the celestial bodies to be affected by gravity, because the bodies were observed to follow perpetually repeating nondescending trajectories in the sky. Thus, Aristotle considered that each heavenly body followed a particular “natural” motion, unaffected by external causes or agents. Aristotle also believed that massive earthly objects possess a natural tendency to move toward Earth’s centre. Those Aristotelian concepts prevailed for centuries along with two others: that a body moving at constant speed requires a continuous force acting on it and that force must be applied by contact rather than interaction at a distance. These ideas were generally held until the 16th and early 17th centuries, thereby impeding an understanding of the true principles of motion and precluding the development of ideas about universal gravitation. This impasse began to change with several scientific contributions to the problem of earthly and celestial motion, which in turn set the stage for Newton’s later gravitational theory.
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The 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler accepted the argument of Nicolaus Copernicus (which goes back to Aristarchus of Samos) that the planets orbit the Sun, not Earth. Using the improved measurements of planetary movements made by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe during the 16th century, Kepler described the planetary orbits with simple geometric and arithmetic relations. Kepler’s three quantitative laws of planetary motion are:
1.The planets describe elliptic orbits, of which the Sun occupies one focus (a focus is one of two points inside an ellipse; any ray coming from one of them bounces off a side of the ellipse and goes through the other focus).
2.The line joining a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
Gravity is the universal force of attraction acting between all matter. Learn about its history, theory, effects, and applications from Britannica, the authoritative source of scientific knowledge.
Nov 21, 2023 · Learn what force of attraction is and how it affects different objects in the Universe. Explore the types of attraction (gravitational, electric, magnetic) and their formulas with examples and quizzes.
- To calculate the force of attraction between two bodies depends on the circumstances and conditions being considered. Each type of force has a uniq...
- Force of attraction relates to the external influence that causes two individual masses to move closer together. Some examples would be gravity, ma...
- The Earth's magnetic field is generated by molten metal in the core. This metal mass generates a force that causes magnets to direct themselves a c...
- Magnetic attraction is created between objects that have electrons that spin in opposite directions. This electronic spin is what creates magnetic...
The force is proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them: Diagram of two masses attracting one another = where F is the force between the masses; G is the Newtonian constant of gravitation (6.674 × 10 −11 m 3 ⋅kg −1 ⋅s −2);
3 days ago · Learn the formula of force of attraction for gravitational, electric and magnetic forces. Find out how these forces depend on mass, charge and distance, and see examples and FAQs.
- In this universe, each body attracts the other body towards itself with a force known as the gravitational force. It studies the interaction betwee...
- In physics, the electrostatic attraction formula deals with properties and phenomena of slow-moving or stationary electric charges. Coulomb’s law d...
- The magnetic force between two charges in motion is stated as an effect exerted upon any one of the charges created by the magnetic field of anothe...
- In nature, there are several attractive forces at work. Magnetic force, electric force, electrostatic force, and gravitational force are a few exam...
- The attraction between positively and negatively charged ions is known as ionic bonding. Ionic networks (or lattices) are formed when oppositely ch...
Newton’s law of gravitation, statement that any particle of matter in the universe attracts any other with a force varying directly as the product of the masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them. Isaac Newton put forward the law in 1687.
Newton proposed that gravity is a force of attraction between ALL objects that have mass. And the strength of the force is proportional to the product of the masses of the two objects and inversely proportional to the distance of separation between the object's centers.
