LECTURE THREE

GRAVITATION

Objectives
At the end of this lecture you should be able to
State the law of universal gravitation and solve physical problems using
the law.
Derive Kepler's laws of planetary motion and solve problems using these
laws.
Evaluate gravitational potential energy
Distinguish between gravitational and inertial masses.

3.1: Introduction

Gravity is the most obvious of natures' fundamental forces. Historically theories of

gravity have led to clearer understanding of the nature and evolution of the universe
beyond planet Earth. With the advent of space age, we have used our knowledge of
gravitation to explore the solar system and to engineer a host of new space based
technologies. These are based on Newton's theory of gravity as developed in the late
1600's.

3.2: Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

Within the solar system, planets orbit around the Sun and satellites orbit around the
planets. These circular or nearly circular motions require a centripetal force pulling
planets toward the sun and the satellites toward the planets.
It was Newton's great discovery that this interplanetary force holding celestial bodies in
their orbits is of the same kind as the force of gravity that causes the apples and other
things to fall downwards near the surface of the earth. The law of universal gravitation
formulated by Newton states:
Every particle attracts every other particle with a force directly proportional
to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.
Mathematically the magnitude of the gravitational force that the particles of masses M
and m separated by a distance r exert on each other is

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where is a unit vector pointing from say M to m. The direction of the force on each
particle is toward the other particle. The universal gravitational constant G equals

G = 6.67 × 10-11 N.m2kg-2.

The gravitational force of equation (3.1) is an inverse square force:-

❖ It decreases by a factor of 4 when the distance increases by a factor of 2;

decreases by a factor of 9 when the distance increases by a factor of 3
❖ Although the force decreases with distance, it never quite reaches zero. Thus
every particle in the universe continually attracts every other particle at least a
little bit, even if the distance between them is very, very large.

r
Fig. 3.1: Gravitational force decreases
with distance .

❖ The gravitational force does not require any contact between the
interacting particles. In reaching from one remote particle to the other,
the gravitational force somehow bridges the empty space between the
particles. This is called action- at - a distance.

❖ The gravitational force between two particles is unaffected by the

presence of intervening masses. This means that it is impossible to shield
a particle from the gravitational attraction of another particle.
❖ Since the gravitational attraction between two particles is completely
independent of the presence of other particles, it follows that the
gravitational force between two bodies is the vector sum of the individual

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 forces between the particles making up the bodies i.e the gravitational
force obeys the principle of superposition. This implies that the
gravitational force between two spherical bodies acts just as though the
mass of each body were concentrated at the center of their respective
spheres. This important result is called Newton's theorem.

Since the sun, planets and most of their satellites are almost exactly spherical, we can
treat all these celestial bodies as point-like particles in all calculations concerning their
gravitational attractions. For instance the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on a
particle above its surface is

where m is the mass of the particle, ME the mass of the Earth, and r the distance from the
center of the Earth.
This expression is only valid if the particle is outside the Earth i.e on the surface or
above the surface. If the particle is inside the Earth (e.g inside a mineshaft), then the
force is smaller.
If the particle is at the surface of the Earth r = RE

The corresponding acceleration of the mass is

But this is what we call the acceleration due to gravity

If the particle is at a high altitude above the surface of the Earth, then the acceleration of
gravity is less than that given by (3.5). At a distance r from the center,

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where g is the acceleration at the surface.

Example 3.1

Use the law of universal gravitation to find the force of Earth's gravity on a mass m and
apply Newton's 2nd law to determine the corresponding acceleration. Evaluate your
results at the Earth's surface and at 240 km altitude of a space shuttle.
Finally find the acceleration due to the moon's gravity at the lunar surface.
Take ME = 5.97 × 1024 kg, RE = 6.37 × 106m.

Solution

Since the Earth is essentially spherical, the gravitational force on the mass m is given by

where the distance r is measured from the centre of the object providing the
gravitational force.

which is the acceleration due to gravity at Earth's surface.

At the space shuttle's altitude, we have r = RE + 240 km

which is less than that at the surface of the Earth.

For gmm at the moon, we have Rm = (1.74 × 106m)

Although the moon's mass is only about 10% of Earth's, it is also a lot smaller and the
two effects combine to give a gravitational acceleration about one-sixth that of the Earth.

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Example3.2

Find the resultant gravitational field at the location of a spacecraft which is at a point P
between the Earth and the moon (figure 3.2 below). It is new moon, with the moon on a
line between the earth and the Sun; the sun being 1.5 × 1011m from point P.
{Take ME = 6.0 × 1024 kg, Mmoon = 7.4 × 1022 kg and Ms = 2.0 × 1030 kg }

Solution

Let us first sketch the situation diagram:

EMBED
Equation.
3

E S
P M

EMBED EMBED
Equation. Equation.3
3 m
Fig. 3.2: positions of the Earth, the Moon and the
Sun.

The gravitational field at P is the resultant of the three fields:

The gravitational field strength ( γs) at P due to the Sun measured in Nkg-1 is given by

(toward the Sun)

That due to the earth is given by

(toward the earth)

and lastly, that due to the Moon is

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 (toward the moon)

The resultant field is a vector sum, with the direction of the field toward the Sun taken as
positive:
γ = γs + γE + γm
= (6.0 - 4.5 + 0.5) × 10-3 N/kg
= 2.0 × 10-3 Nkg-1 (toward the sun)

3.3: Measurement of G - The Cavendish experiment

The gravitational constant G is rather difficult to measure with precision. The trouble is
that the gravitational force between masses of laboratory size are extremely small and
thus a very delicate apparatus is needed to detect these forces.
This was accomplished in 1798, through an ingenious experiment by the British
physicist Henry Cavendish. Two equal small spherical masses m, m' are attached to a
light weight horizontal beam which is suspended at its middle by a thin vertical fibre.
When the beam is left undisturbed it will settle into an equilibrium position such that the
fibre is completely untwisted. If two equal large masses M, M' are brought near the
small masses m, m' the gravitational attraction between each small mass and its
neighbouring large mass tends to rotate the beam (counterclockwise).

M' fibre

m'

M
Fig.3.3: The Cavendish
experimental set up.

The twist of the fibre opposes this rotation, and the net result is that the beam settles into
a new equilibrium position in which the forces generated by the gravitational attraction

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between the masses is exactly balanced by the force generated by the twisted fibre. The
gravitational constant can then be calculated from the measured values of the angular
displacement between the two equilibrium positions, the values of their masses and their
distances, and the value of the force constant of the fibre.

Example 3.2

In the Cavendish experiment, suppose M = 12.7 kg and m = 9.89 g. The length L of the
rod connecting the two small spheres is 52.4 cm. The rod and the fibre form a torsion
pendulum whose rotational inertia I about the central axis is 1.25 × 10-3 kgm2 and whose
period of oscillation T is 769 s. The angle 2θ between the equilibrium positions of the
rod is 0.516° when the distance R between the centers of the large and small spheres is
10.8 cm. What is the value of the gravitational constant resulting from this data?

Solution

Let us find k, the torsional constant of the fibre.

The period of torsional oscillations is given by

The rod is in equilibrium under influence of two opposing torques resulting from the
action of the fibre and the large spheres. The magnitude of the torque (τ) exerted by the
fibre is related to the angular displacement θ by

The torque is balanced by the total torque due to the gravitational force exerted by each
large sphere on the nearby small sphere. The force F on each small sphere is equal to

and the moment arm is one-half the length L of the rod. The gravitational torque
is then

Solution for G yields

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 = 6.67 × 10-11N.m2kg-2

Applications

Variations in the thickness and density of Earth's crust are associated with geological
features and give rise to small variaties in the surface of the gravitational acceleration g.
Geologists use sensitive instruments called gravimeters to measure these variations and
infer the underlying rock structures. Gravimeters themselves are based on simple
physical principles; the most common types employ fixed masses on sensitive springs.
Ingeniously designed, these devices detect variations in g as small as 10-6ms-2.
Petroleum geologists find gravity measurements particularly useful since they readily
reveal the presence of low-density salt domes that often occur with oil and gas deposits.

3.4 Orbital Motion - Planets and Satellites

Orbital motion occurs when gravity is the dominant force acting on a body. Although
the mutual gravitational forces of the Sun on a planet and of the planet on the sun are
equal in magnitude, the mass of the sun is much larger than the mass of a planet and
hence its acceleration is much smaller. It is therefore an excellent approximation to
regard the sun as fixed and immovable, and it then remains only to investigate the
motion of the planet. Thus the magnitude of the gravitational force on the planet is

and points toward the center of the sun.

For a particle moving under the influence of such a central force, the simplest
conceivable motion is uniform circular motion. So we can approximate planetary orbits
to be circles although they are ellipses.
If the speed of the planet is v, the centripetal acceleration is v2/r and the equation of
motion is

But the circumference of the orbit is 2πr and the period is T

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Thus, the square of the period is proportional to the cube of the radius of the orbit, with
a constant of proportionality depending on the mass of the central body.
Equation of motion for a moon or an artificial satellite in a circular orbit around a planet
is analogous to equation (3.4). The planet now plays the role of the central body and in
equation (3.4) its mass appears in place of the mass of the sun.

Example 3.3

Given that the (mean) orbital radius of the earth is 1.496 ×1011m, find the mass of the
Sun.

Solution

The orbital period of the Earth is one year = 3.156×107s.

Example 3.4

A communications satellite is in a circular equatorial orbit around the Earth. The period
of the orbit is exactly one day so that the satellite always holds a fixed station relative to
the rotating earth. What must be the radius of such a " synchronous" or "geo-stationary"
orbit?

Solution

Since the central body is the Earth, the equation to be used is

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which is the radius of the orbit.

NB: A number of communications satellites have been placed in this geo-stationary orbit.
These satellites routinely relay radio and TV signals from one continent to another.
In deriving equation (3.10) we proved Kepler's third law. You should note that the orbital
period and speed are independent of the mass, m, of the orbiting` object. This is an
indication that objects experience the same gravitational acceleration. Astronauts, for
example, have the same orbital parameters as their space shuttle. That's why astronauts
are weightless inside the shuttle and why they don't float away if they step outside.

3.5: Elliptical Orbits- Kepler's Laws

Although the orbits of the planets around the Sun are approximately circular, none of
these orbits are exactly circular. Planetary orbits are ellipses.

Kepler's 1st Law

The orbits of planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus. The point closest to the Sun is
called the perihelion; the point furthest from the sun is called aphelion. The sum of the
perihelion and aphelion distances is the major axis of the ellipse.

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 aphelion

perihelion

Fig. 3.4 (a): elliptical orbit showing

aphelion and perihelion

The aphelion distance is

Ra = a(1+e)……………………………………………………………………(3.11a)

and the perihelion distance from the Sun S is

Rp= a(1-e)………………………………………………………………………(3.11b)

. For circular motion Ra = Rb = a , where e is the eccentricity.

The distance from the centre of the ellipse to the perihelion (or aphelion) is the semi-
major axis). This distance equals the average of the perihelion and aphelion distances.

Kepler's 2nd Law `

The radial line segment from the sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

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 P

P'

Q'

Fig. 3.4(b): For equal time

intervals, the areas QQ'S = PP'S

Consider a small area increment ΔA covered in a time interval Δt.

(r) (i.e half base × height)

Rate of sweeping the area =

But the instantaneous angular momentum of the orbiting body is L = mr2ω ⇒

To the extent that we regard the bodies as an isolated system, L is a constant, and

therefore . The speeding of a comet as it passes close to the Sun is therefore just a
demonstration of the conservation of angular momentum. Conservation of angular
momentum is valid for any central force i.e for any force that acts along a line joining
two particles and that depends only on the magnitude of the separation between two
particles.

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Example 3.5

Halley's comet has a period of 76 years. In 1986, its closest approach to the Sun was
8.9×1010m. Find the aphelion or furthest distance from the Sun and the eccentricity of the
orbit.

Solution

Now Rp = a - ae and Ra = a + ae

between the orbits of Pluto

and Neptune. The eccentricity e is

Such a large eccentricity (1.0 is the maximum) corresponds to a long thin ellipse.

Example 3.6
An astronaut in a spacecraft is in a circular orbit of radius 8.4×103 km around the Earth.
At one point he briefly fires the thrusters of his spacecraft in the forward direction so as
to reduce its speed. This places him in a new elliptical orbit with apogee equal to the
radius of the old orbit, but with a smaller perigee. Suppose that the perigee of the new
orbit is 6.0×108 km. Compare the periods of the new and old orbits.

Solution

Told =

According to Kepler's law, the period of the new elliptical orbit is given by a similar
equation with r replaced by the semi-major axis a of the ellipse.

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with a =

Thus the period of the new orbit is shorter than for the old orbit- even though the
astronaut's maneuver has reduced his speed at the apogee, he takes a shorter time to
complete the orbit. The explanation is of-course that the maneuver has increased his
speed at the perigee and also has shortened the distance around the orbit.

3.6: Gravitational Field and Potential

The gravitational force is a conservative force ; that is, the work done by the force on a
particle moving from a point P1 to a point P2 depends on the positions of these points but
not on the shape of the path connecting them..

Let us consider the gravitational force that acts between two particles of masses
M and m. Suppose that M remains stationary at the origin and that m moves.

P2

P1

Fig. 3.5: Gravitational potential at

points P1 and P2 due to masses M and
m.

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Let P1 and P2 represent the initial and final positions of m. Work done along the path is

To evaluate the integral, we approximate each path by a series of step line

segments, each being either a radial line or an arc of a circle. The circular segments do
not contribute anything to the work; along these segments the work is zero because the
force is perpendicular to the displacement. The radial segments do not contribute to the
work. These segments contribute equally for each of the alternative paths because for
every radial segment belonging to the first path (clockwise from P1) there is an equal
radial segment belonging to the second path (counterclockwise from P1), and the
magnitude of the force is exactly the same as radial distances from the central mass M.
Hence the work is completely independent of the shape of the path.
Suppose we take Po at an infinite distance from the central body of mass M, then the
value of the potential energy is given by

If we place the x axis along the path then

and so that and

Thus the potential energy increases with distance. Such an increase of potential energy is
of course characteristic of an attractive force.

NB: You should note that U( r) is really the potential energy of both particles M and m.
However since M does not move, we regard U (r ) as the potential of the mass m which
does move.

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 U

Fig. 3.6: Graph of potential U versus

distance r.

The total mechanical energy is the sum of potential and kinetic energies. If the mass M is
stationary, then the kinetic energy is entirely due to the motion of the mass m and

Thus the total energy remains constant during the motion.

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 Energy

ro
r
O
Eo

E=U+K

Fig. 3.7: Graph of Total

energy as a function of
potential and kinetic energy.

Let us now consider the motion of a body of mass m ( planets or satellites, say)
about a massive body of mass M (sun or earth, say). For a circular orbit, the orbital speed

v is and the kinetic energy is

Hence the total energy is

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 Consequently, the total energy for a circular orbit is negative and is exactly one-half the
potential energy. For an elliptical orbit, the total energy is also negative and it can be
written in the form of (3.15) but the quantity r must be taken equal to the semi-major axis
of the ellipse. The total energy does not depend on the shape of the ellipse but only on
the overall size.
The angular momentum differs from orbit to orbit. A circular orbit has the highest
angular momentum while the very elongated elliptical orbit has the lowest. If the energy
is nearly zero, the size of the orbit is very large. Such orbits are characteristic of comets,
many of which have elliptical orbits that extend far beyond the edge of the solar system.
If the energy is exactly zero, then the ellipse extends all the way to infinity and never
closes. Such an open ellipse is exactly a parabola.

Equation (3.14) indicates that if the energy is zero, the comet will reach infinite distance
with zero velocity (if r = then v = 0).By considering the reverse of this motion, we
recognize that a comet initially at rest at a very large distance from the sun will fall along
this type of parabolic orbit. If the energy is positive, then the orbit extends all the way to
infinity and again falls close; such an open orbit is a hyperbola. The comet will then
reach infinite distance with some nonzero velocity and continue moving along a straight
line.

Example 3.7

A meteorite is initially at rest in interplanetary space at large distance from the sun.
Under the influence of gravity, the meteoroid begins to fall toward the sun in a straight
radial line. With what speed does it strike the sun?

Solution

The energy of the meteoroid is

Initially both K.E and P.E are zero ( U = 0, r = )

Hence at any later time, , with r = R

This is called the escape velocity . It is the minimum velocity with which a body must
be launched upward from the surface of the sun if it is to escape and never fall back.

Since the solar radius is Rs = 6.96×108m.

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Let us now examine the gravitational potential energy of a particle in the vicinity of the
earth.

The change in the potential between the point r and a point on the surface of the earth is
then

If r is near the surface of the earth so that r ≅ RE, then we can approximate the product
rRE by RE2. Further more, the difference r-RE is simply the height z above the surface, so

But

This expression is valid if the height z is much smaller than the radius of the earth (z ••
RE).

3.7: Variation of the Earth's Gravitational Field

Let us assume that the earth is spherical and that its density depends only on the radial
distance from its center. The magnitudes of the gravitational force acting on a particle of
mass m located an external distance r from the earth's center can be written as

From Newton's second law F = mgo; where go is the free fall acceleration due to the
gravitational pull of the earth.

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But the real earth differs from our model earth because of the effects due to the
following:

(a) The Earth's density is not uniform

There are local density variations everywhere. The precise measurements in the free-
fall acceleration give information that is useful for example in oil prospecting.

(b) The Earth is not spherical

The earth is approximately an ellipsoid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the
equator. The earth's equatorial radius is greater than its polar radius by 21 km. Thus a
point at the poles is closer to the dense core than is a point on the equator. Therefore g is
greater at the poles than at the equator.

(c ) Rotation of the earth

The earth's rotation contributes an acceleration ωE2 RE. Thus g decreases by this
amount but this disappears at the poles i.e g varies with latitude.

(c) Tidal forces

When the gravitational field is uniform, all parts of a freely falling body
experience exactly the same gravitational acceleration. But over large enough
scales gravity is always non-uniform and the acceleration due to gravity varies
from place to place. The result is a force that tends to stretch or compress an
object. Ocean tides are an important manifestation of this force, in which the
oceans are stretched non-uniform gravitational forces of the moon and sun. For
that reason the forces associated with the variation in gravitational field from
place to place are called tidal forces.

Tidal forces are not from gravity itself but from difference in gravity. Tidal forces
therefore drop off even more rapidly with distance than does gravity itself, being
inversely proportional to the cube of the distance. That is why the moon's gravity
is much stronger at the earth than is the sun's, the distance from the sun is greater
but the moon's tidal force is greater. Tidal forces exert stresses on any object in
non-uniform gravitational field, and astronomical consequences are numerous e.g

▪ The extensive volcanic activity of Jupiter's moon Io is thought to arise

from heat generated by tidal forces.
▪ Comets sometimes break apart under the influence of strong tidal forces as
they pass near the sun or even Jupiter.
▪ Stars in binary star systems are frequently distorted by tidal forces.

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▪ When a planet and its satellite have the same density, that occurs with
about 2.5 planetary radii of the planets center - a distance called the Roche
limit.Within the Roche limits of Saturn and other planets, for instance, we
find rings, rather than solid moons- showing that tidal forces prevent the
formation of solid bodies held together by self- gravitation.

Example 3.8

A 680 kg communication satellite is carried in a space shuttle to a 250 km

high circular orbit. How much energy is required to launch it from there to a
geo-synchronous orbit?

Solution

In the shuttle orbit, the satellite already has some orbital energy. The energy
needed to get it from there to geo-synchronous orbit is the difference between
the orbital energies at the two altitudes.

where r1 and r2 are the radii of the geo-synchronous and shuttle orbits
respectively.

Now r2 = 42000 km = 4.2× 107 m, putting r1 = RE + 250 km = 6.62 × 106 m.

This energy is the one needed to climb against the earth's gravity as well as
the K.E needed for the circular orbit.

3.8: Inertial Mass and Gravitational Mass

The procedure for assigning mass to an object is to compare its response to a

given force ( that is acceleration) to that of a standard mass. This comparison
is made on the basis of Newton's 2nd law, and the mass that appears in F = ma
is called the inertial mass (mi). We can also use a procedure based on
Newton's law of gravitation to measure the mass of an object. Let us measure
the force on a standard kilogram in the earth's gravitational field (i.e its

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 weight) and let us determine the force on our unknown mass in the same
manner.

According to , the ratio of those forces should be the same as the

ratio of the masses, and we thus have a second method of determining mass.
In this case we are measuring the gravitational mass (mg).

Newton was the first to test the equality of inertial and gravitational mass
using a pendulum made in the form of an empty box. He filled the box with
different quantities of material and measured the period of the resulting
pendulum. He found that, taking into account mi and mg, that

. This reduces to the familiar result when mi = mg.

Newton used identical weights of different substances and was careful to keep
physical circumstances (amplitude) identical in all trials. He concluded that
inertial and gravitational mass were the same to about one part in 103 i.e mi =
mg.

Summary
Newton's law of universal gravitation states that any two particles
exert mutually attractive forces of magnitude EMBED Equation.3 , where
m1 and m2 are the masses of the particles and r the distance between
them.
An orbit is the path of a body whose motion is dominated by gravity.
Bodies whose total energy is negative travel in closed elliptical orbits. A
special case of an ellipse is the circular orbit, for which gravity provides
the centripetal force EMBED Equation.3 needed to maintain circular
motion. For an object in orbit about a much greater mass M, the orbital
period and radius are related by

EMBED Equation.3 (circular orbit)

An especially important orbit is the geo-synchronous orbit,
where a satellites orbital period equals the earth's rotation period. The
satellite then appears motionless above the equator. Geo-synchronous
orbit occurs about 36000 km above earth's surface.

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 The gravitational potential energy of two masses M and m is given by EMBED
Equation.3 ( gravitational potential energy); where r is the distance between their
centers and where the zero potential energy is taken at infinite separation.
Because potential energy remains finite over infinite distances, it is possible to
launch an object with enough energy that it will never return. This required escape
velocity a distance r from a gravitating mass M is given by EMBED Equation.3
(escape velocity)
For a circular orbit, the kinetic and potential energies are directly related:
U = -2K, so the total energy is EMBED Equation.3

Self Assessment Test 3

1. Why are the tides highest when Sun , moon, and earth are in a line? At what
phase(s) of the moon does this occur?
2. Obtain the values of the escape velocity for an atmospheric particle 1000km
above the surface of the Sun . [take the mass of the sun to be 1.99×1030kg
and radius to be 6.96×108 m].
3. Suppose that a comet is originally at rest at a distance r1 from the sun. Under
the influence of the gravitational pull, the comet falls radially toward the sun.
Show that the time it takes to reach a radius r2 is

4. Prove that the mass mp of a planet is given by , rp is the planet's

radius and gp is the acceleration due to gravity on the planet's surface.
5. Explorer I, the first American artificial satellite had an elliptical orbit around
the earth with a perigee distance of 6.74×106 m and an apogee distance of 10.3
×106 m. The speed of the satellite was 6.21×103ms-1 at apogee. Calculate the
speed at perigee.
6. An artificial satellite of 3500 kg made of aluminium is in circular orbit at a
height of 100 km above the surface of the earth. Atmospheric friction removes

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 energy from the satellite and causes it to spiral downward so that it ultimately
crashes into the ground.
(a) What is the initial orbital energy (gravitational plus kinetic) of the
satellite? What is the final energy when the satellite comes to rest on
the ground? What is energy change?
(b) Suppose that all this energy is absorbed in the form of heat by the
material of the satellite. Is this enough heat to melt the material of the
satellite? To vaporize it?

[ Take melting point of aluminium is 660 oC , heat of fussion = 95.3

kcal/kg, heat of vaporization = 2520 kcal/kg.

7. The asteroid Passachoff orbits the sun with a period of 1417 days. What is the
semi-major axis of its orbit? Determine using Kepler's third law in comparison
with the earth's orbital radius and period.
8. A satellite in an elliptical orbit at altitudes ranging from 230 to 890 km. At
the highest point it is moving at 7.23 kms-1. How fast is it moving at the low point?

Suggested Further Reading

1. Physics, 4th edition, Vol. 1 by Halliday, Resnick and Krane, John Wiley and
sons, pp. 343 ( 1992)
2. Physics with modern physics, for Scientists and Engineers, 3rd edition, by
R. Wolfson and Jay M. Passachoff, Addison- Wesley Longman Inc, pp 213
(1999)
3. Ohanian Physics, 2nd edition, by Hans. C. Ohanian, W.W. Norton and
Company, pp 211 (1988)
4. College Physics, 3rd edition, by F. Miller, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc.
pp 68(1972).

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