Unit 3 - Gravitational Energy

Unit 3 - Physics Notes

, (1) Notes - Gravitational Fields Center of Mass
Thursday, April 11, 2019 8:06 AM




- Field - the area of influence of a force on an object
- Field Line - a line that helps visualize a field, the path taken by a test particle in the
field
- Gravitational Field - exists in the space surrounding an object in which the force of
gravity exists
- The magnitude of the gravitational field strength surrounding a planet or other body
(assumed to be spherical) is directly proportional to the mass of the central body,
and inversely proportional to the square of the distance to the center of the body.




- A force field exists in the space surrounding an object in which a force is exerted on
objects. We recall that the gravitational field that surrounds an object has a strength
directly proportional to the mass of the central body and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance from the center of that body.
- We also recall from Newton's second law that Fg = mg
- Where Fg is the magnitude of the force of gravity acting on a body of mass m and g
is the magnitude of the gravitational field strength. At any specific location, FG and
Fg are equal
- The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Earth is 9.8 N/kg also as 9.8
m/s^2 in acceleration units.
- Example:
○ Calculate the magnitude of the gravitational field strength on the surface of
the Moon.