Gravitational fields

2^nd year of post-compulsory secondary education

José Luis San Emeterio

GRAVF

Equipotential surfaces and lines of force

The surfaces formed by points with the same gravitational potential are called equipotential surfaces.

Lines of force are lines which are tangent to the field intensity vector at every point in the field.

Equipotential surfaces and lines of force are perpendicular to each other.

In the visual above, you can see the equipotential surfaces and lines of force in the field created by the planet.

	Newton's law
	The superposition of forces
	Angular momentum and central force
	Conclusions

	The concept of field intensity
	Variations according to position
	Conclusions


	Energy in the gravitational field

	Gravitational potential energy
	Equipotential surfaces and lines of force
	Conclusions


	Some consequences of the theory

	Explanation of the tides
	The movement of artificial satellites
	Coherence of galaxies
	Conclusions