2nd year of post-compulsory secondary education
Gravitational fields
José Luis San Emeterio
 GRAVF 
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The law of universal gravitation

The accelerated fall of bodies to earth led  Newton to assume that our planet attracted all the bodies that surround it towards its centre.

Kepler's laws of planetary motion convinced Newton that the sun in turn attracted all the planets towards itself.

Newton's genius lies in his ability to reach a general rule: the law of universal gravitation.

Click on Next to see the law and some important reflections about it.

 

Historical background
Freely falling bodies
Two theories of the universe
Kepler's laws
Conclusions
The force of gravity
Newton's law
The superposition of forces
Angular momentum and central force
Conclusions
Field intensity
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
Evaluation