Home
Back
Newton's Law Of Universal Gravitation:
| From: | To: |
The acceleration of gravity formula, derived from Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, calculates the gravitational acceleration at a distance from a celestial body's center. It describes how the gravitational force decreases with the square of the distance from the mass center.
The calculator uses Newton's gravitational formula:
Where:
Explanation: This formula shows that gravitational acceleration is directly proportional to the mass of the object and inversely proportional to the square of the distance from its center.
Details: Calculating gravitational acceleration is essential for space missions, satellite orbit calculations, understanding planetary physics, and various engineering applications involving gravitational forces.
Tips: Enter the mass of the celestial body in kilograms and the radius (distance from center) in meters. Both values must be positive numbers greater than zero.
Q1: What Is The Gravitational Constant G?
A: The gravitational constant (6.67430 × 10⁻¹¹ m³ kg⁻¹ s⁻²) is a fundamental physical constant that determines the strength of the gravitational force in Newton's law of universal gravitation.
Q2: How Does Gravity Change With Altitude?
A: Gravity decreases with altitude because you're moving farther from Earth's center, following the inverse square law in the formula g = GM/r².
Q3: What Is Earth's Standard Gravity?
A: Earth's standard gravitational acceleration at sea level is approximately 9.80665 m/s², calculated using Earth's mass (5.972 × 10²⁴ kg) and radius (6.371 × 10⁶ m).
Q4: Can This Formula Be Used For Other Planets?
A: Yes, this formula works for any celestial body when you input its specific mass and radius values.
Q5: Why Is The Radius Squared In The Formula?
A: The radius is squared because gravitational force follows an inverse square law - it decreases with the square of the distance from the mass center.