GRAVITATION

1) INTRODUCTION:
It is the inherent property of all bodies in
the known universe to attract all other bodies with a force. This
force is nothing but the force of gravitation. It is a long range
force meaning its range is infinite with the force decreases as
the distance between the bodies increase. Also the force of
gravitation is attractive universally. It is responsible for
planetary motion. Launching satellites involves calculations
taking into account the planets gravitational pull etc.

2) NEWTONS LAW OF GRAVITATION:

Newtons name is synonymous with
gravity. Everyone knows the story of the falling apple which
sparked the idea that the reason that the apple fell to the earth
was because of a force that pulled it to the center of the earth.
And so, Newton came to the conclusion that the earth
attracted the apple and by logic everything else, including the
moon. By Newtons Third Law, if the apple was pulled towards
the earth by a force then the apple should pull the earth with a
force with the same magnitude. But due to the large mass of
the earth the acceleration of the earth is very negligible and so
we see only the apple moving down to the earth.
Now Newton by guesswork came to the conclusion that this
force of gravitation was inversely proportional to the distance
between the centers of the two bodies and directly
proportional to product of the masses of the two bodies.
(Experimentally Verified) (If you want you can check it out)

Where, M, m are the masses of the two bodies in kg

r is the distance between the centers of the two bodies
in meters
G is the constant of proportionality called the the
universal gravitation constant its value being
.
The Force of gravity always acts through the line joining
the center of mass of the two bodies. (Experimentally Verified).
Determination of the value of G can be found in H C Verma
Concepts of Physics.
The force of gravitation between two bodies is unaffected by
the position and orientation of all other bodies around it.

3) GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIAL ENERGY:

The Potential energy of a system due to a
conservative field is (F and dr are
vectors) i.e. the change in potential energy is negative of the
work done by the internal forces. Now for the earth and a
particle of mass m near the surface of the earth change in
potential energy for moving it upwards by dr (path doesnt
matter as gravitation is a conservative force) is

Here F is substituted by mg as the

body is taken close to the earths surface so the change in
altitude is small so the force on it remains more or less the
same. Now mg is downwards while we move up so dot product
is negative giving us and integral of dr is r
and applying the limits we get the height between the two
points between which we moved h
So,

Now consider a two particle system of masses

separated by a distance
of now particle at B is moved to a point C at a distance of
from A which is fixed. To do this, consider a point D at a
distance r from A and a point E at a distance of dr from D.
Now the force on particle if it is at D is
along DA

The work done in displacing it to E is

Noe the increase in potential energy when it is displaced by dr

is nothing but the negative of dU i.e. .
The change in potential energy of the two particle system when
the distance between them changes from to

Usually to simplify calculations we set a reference i.e. we assign

an arbitrary value to an arbitrary point. Here U(infinity) = 0. So
consider to be r and to be infinity

this is the potential energy of a two particle

system separated by a distance of r. Even though we assumed
the particle at A to be fixed as Potential energy depends only o
separation it makes no difference.
The force of gravitation obeys the law of superposition i.e. the
force between two particles is unaffected by the position of any
other particles in the system. So for multi particle systems the
total potential energy is the sum of all the two particle system.
This is a three
particle
system; the
total potential
energy is the
sum of all the
potential
energies
shown by
superposition.

4) GRAVITAIONAL POTENTIAL:
Gravitational Potential at a point is defined
as the change in potential energy per unit mass when the mass
is brought from the reference point to the given point. It can
also be defined as the work done per unit mass by an external
agent in bringing a particle slowly from the reference point to
the given point. SI unit is

A) POTENTIAL DUE TO A POINT MASS:

Consider a particle of mass M at A and we
need to find the potential at a point p at a distance of r from A.
( ) ( )
Potential at P,

So,

B) POTENTIAL DUE TO A UNIFORM RING AT A

POINT ON ITS AXIS:
Let the mass of ring be M and its
radius R. To calculate the potential
at point x at a distance r on the axis
of the ring we consider a small part
of the ring of mass dM. this dM
exerts a small force dF on the
particle at x. Now the distance of x from this dM is
. Potential at x due to dM is

Total potential V is the integral of dV over the entire ring and as

the mass of the ring is the integral element we get potential at
x due to the ring as

 C) POTENTIAL DUE TO A UNIFORM THIN
SPHERICAL SHELL:

Let its mass be M and radius a. Consider a point P such that OP

= r where O is the center. At angle with OP consider a radius
of the shell tracing out a circle on it and similarly one at an
angle of . This part of the shell between the circles can
be considered to be a ring. The radius of this ring is asin and
the width of the ring is a .
Area of the ring is 2 a (a )
The mass per unit area of the shell is M/4 (Assuming that
the shell is uniform)

The mass of the ring is 2 =

Let the distance of any point on the ring and the point P be
AP=y. From the triangle OAP by Pythagoras Theorem,
Differentiating both sides,

Thus mass of the ring is,

Potential at P due to this ring of mass dm is,

As is varied from 0 to 180 degrees the rings make uo the

whole of the shell. Thus integrating dV with varied from 0 to
will give the potential at P.

a) P is outside the shell:

When is 0 y is r - a and when is y is r + a.
Thus applying ys limits and integrating,

Thus to calculate the potential at an external point the uniform

shell can be treated as a point mass of M situated at the shells
center.

b) P is inside the shell:

When is 0 y is a - r and when is y is r + a.
Applying the limits,

Thus the potential inside a uniform shell is constant throughout

the cavity of the shell.
Check out the graph of the variation of potential with r on the
net I am unable to find an image.

D) POTENTIAL DUE TO A UNIFORM SOLID

SPHERE:

Consider a solid sphere of radius R, mass M and a point P at

distance of a from the center. Consider at a distance x<R from
the center a shell of uniform infinitesimally small thickness dx.
The volume of this shell will be 4 dx. Mass per unit volume
of the sphere is .

Mass of the thin shell is 4 dx)

Potential due to this ring at P at distance of a from the center is

and depending on whether x<a or

x>a respectively.

a) P is outside the shell:

is the potential at P due to one
shell of mass dm.
Thus the potential at P due to the whole shell is by integrating,

Thus the potential due to a uniform solid sphere at an external

point is same as that due to a point mass of mass M situated at
the center.

b) P is inside the sphere: (a <R)

Let us divide the sphere into two parts by
imagining a concentric spherical surface passing through P. The
inner part has a mass M
 =

Potential at P due to this solid sphere of Mass M and radius a,

Now to find the potential at P due to the rest of the solid

sphere we repeat what we did i.e. dividing it into small shells of
thickness dx at a distance of x from the center.
Mass of such a shell at a distance x from center is
.

Potential at P due to this shell is

Potential due to the outer part of the solid sphere is got by

integrating x from a to R

Thus total potential at P due to the solid sphere is,

 NOTE:
In the graph radius
is taken as a and
the distance of P
from the center as
r.

5) GRAVITATIONAL FIELD:
We assume that a body A of mass, say m
generates a gravitational field in the space around it. This field
has its own energy and momentum. This field has a definite
direction at each point of space and its intensity varies from
point to point.
Now this field signifies the space around A in
within which it can exert a gravitational force on any body
placed in it.
Intensity of gravitational field E vector is defined, as
F(vector)/m where F is the force exerted by A on the body of
mass m placed at the point where we have defined intensity of
gravitational field. It is also called gravitational field. Unit is
.It is a vector quantity.
The force experienced by a body near the surface of the Earth is
mg. The intensity of the earths gravitational field is thus
g(vector).

6) RELATION BETWEEN GRAVITATIONAL FIELD

AND POTENTIAL:
Say the field at a point due to some mass
distribution be . The force experienced by a mass m at this
point is = .

If the particle is displaced by then work done by the

gravitational force is =
The change in potential energy during this displacement is

Change in potential dV is,

Integrating between and ,

If is the reference point then V at . So for any with
reference to is, where is the reference
point .
Considering Cartesian coordinates,

And = -dV

When y and z are constant dy and dz = 0 so we get,

Similarly,

Where is the partial differentiation with respect to variable x

i.e. we see how the function being partial differentiated varies
when only x is varied keeping y and z constant.
Thus if the field is known the potential can be found and vice
versa.
7) CALCULATION OF GRAVITATIONAL FIELD:
A) FIELD DUE TO POINT MASS:
Consider a particle of mass M at a point O in
space and another particle of mass m at a point P at distance of
r from the point O. Let the force experienced by the particle at
P be which is where is the field at P due to the
point mass at O.
Now by Newtons law of gravitation the force exerted by
particle at O on the particle at P is,

along

And so the field at P is along

If O is taken to be origin, the position vector of the particle at P

is just = . Then field can be represented as

Where is the unit vector along .

B) FIELD DUE TO A UNIFORM CIRCULAR RING AT A

POINT ON ITS AXIS:
Consider a uniform ring of radius R and
mass M. Let P be a point on its axis at a distance of r from its
center. By symmetry it is simple enough to see that the
gravitational field will be inwards towards the center as the
vertical components of the forces exerted by symmetrically
opposite points on the ring cancel each other out.

Consider an infinitesimally small mass dM on the ring. The

distance of dM from the point P is .
So field exerted by the mass dM at P is

along the line joining the mass dM and P inward

towards the mass dM.
But we know only the cos components matter so

Integrating mass gets added up Field at P is thus

towards the center of the ring.

( )
C) FIELD DUE TO A UNIFORM DISC AT A POINT
ALONG ITS AXIS:
Consider a disc of mass M and radius a. Let a
point P be situated at a distance of r from the center on the
discs axis.
To do this we consider infinitesimally small rings of radius x
which ranges from 0 to a and thickness dx and mass dm, such
that all these rings together give us the disc back.
Area of one ring is

Using mass per unit area we get

Field due to this ring at P is along PO

( )

Integrating this with x going from 0 to a gives E at P

To solve this take

We get Along OP.

.

Plot the graph of variation of E with r and check what happens

when r tends to infinity also find whether the field has a
maximum and if so what is its value?
D) FIELD DUE TO A UNIFORM THIN SPHERICAL
SHELL:
We can do this in the same way we used to find
the potential due to a uniform shell by dividing it into
infinitesimally small rings. Let the shell have mass M, radius a.
Or an easier way is to use the relation between field and
potential.

a) Point is outside the shell:

The potential at a point P at a distance r from
the center is

i.e. it behaves like a point mass situated at the center.

So the field should also mimic the field due to a point mass at
the center as we know that potential and field are linked. So if
one is known the other can be calculated. We already derived
the field due to point charge,

You can end up with the same result by integration and by

using the relationship between field and potential.
Thus the shell can be treated as a point mass situated at the
center(having same mass as that of the shell) to calculate both
the field and potential at an external point.
 b) Point is inside the shell:
We know that the potential at any point
inside the shell is

We know

Similarly,

But here the potential is constant independent of x, y and z.

This means varying x or y or z will have no effect on V, So all the
partial differentials turn out to be zero.

That is the field inside a uniform shell is zero.

For the verification of the above to results by integration and
by using Newtons Law of Gravitation check H C Verma.
 E) FIELD DUE TO A UNIFORM SOLID SPHERE:
a) Point is outside the sphere:
Let the mass of the sphere be M and radius
be a. Consider at a distance of x from the center an
infinitesimally small shell of thickness dx and mass dm. Let
point P be a point at a distance of r from the center. The field at
P due to the shell of mass dm and radius x is,

The total field due to the sphere is by integrating all the small
shells so that they constitute the sphere.

Thus a uniform solid sphere may be treated as a point mass at

the center of the sphere to calculate the field at an external
point.

b) Point is inside the sphere:

Let the point P be situated at a distance r<a
from the center. For shells (small ones as divided in (a)) with
radius r > a the contribution to the field will be zero as the field
inside the shells is zero. Only the shells whose radii are less
than r contribute to field
Let the mass of the sphere be M and radius be a. Consider at a
distance of x from the center an infinitesimally small shell of
thickness dx and mass dm. The field at P due to the shell of
mass dm and radius x is,

Mass of the small shells are ( ) = dm =

Thus the field is proportional to the distance of the internal

point from the center of the sphere.

8) VARIATION OF g:
Acceleration experienced by a body during free
fall when it is reasonably close to the surface of the Earth is g.

It is given by . We know F varies with distance from the

center of the Earth and so as a result g varies with altitude and
depth.
 A) WITH ALTITUDE:
Suppose the body is at a height of h from the
surface of the Earth, then the force experienced by the object
is,
( )

Where M is the mass of the Earth and R is its radius.

So 2
( +)

As h increases g decreases. Taking R outside,

2 2
(1+ )

0
2

Where is the value of acceleration due to gravity at the

surface. If h << R then we can apply binomial theorem to get,

B) WITH DEPTH:
Say the body is at a depth of d from the
surface of the earth then the force experienced by it is given by,
(Using field due to solid uniform sphere (assuming that the
Earth is uniform even though it is realistically not) at a point
inside it)
 2 0

As we go deeper inside the Earth the acceleration due to

gravity decreases.
g also varies due to the rotation of the Earth. For a body
at rest on the Earth a centrifugal pseudo force is acting
on it which is given by where r is the distance from
the Earths axis and is the angular velocity of the Earth.
This force must also be taken into consideration while
calculating acceleration due to gravity. This is why gs
value is maximum at the poles and least at the equator.

9) ORBITAL VELOCITY:
To make a satellite of mass m revolve
around a planet in a circular orbit of radius say a with the
planets mass being M we need to give it a specific velocity
called orbital velocity which is a function of a for a given planet.
For the orbit to be circular the gravitational force should
provide the necessary centripetal force,
Orbital velocity

A) TIME PERIOD:
Let time period be T. It is the time taken to
complete on revolution around the planet. It should cover a
distance of with a speed of v,

B) ENERGY:
Kinetic energy of the satellite =

Potential energy of the 2 body system =

Total Mechanical Energy = U + K =

As we can see total energy is negative this is so for all bound

systems i.e. the satellite is bound to revolve around the planet.
10) GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES:
These are satellites whose time period is 24
hours i.e. it moves in same sense as the Earth, such that is
seems it is stationary above a specific point on the Earth ex: the
Equator. Theses satellites are useful for television broadcast
among other stuff like weather forecasting.
Putting T = 24 hours in the time period equation we get the
radius of orbit of such satellites for the Earth to be
.

11) ESCAPE VELOCITY:

Escape velocity is the minimum velocity that
must be given to a body such that it escapes off into space from
the gravitational pull of the planet.
Let the initial velocity be u given to a body of mass m on the
surface of the Earth(radius R, mass M)

Then total energy initially =

When it reaches a height h let its speed be v<u,

Total energy at h =

As gravity is the only force acting on the body and it is

conservative in nature (neglecting air resistance) By
conservation of energy,
Max height is reached when v becomes 0. Suppose RHS is > or
equal to 0 then v can never be zero as LHS will become negative
and so when RHS is> or equal to zero the body will continue to
move with a velocity v and escape.(v never becomes zero so it
never falls back).

This critical velocity is the escape velocity. When it is equal

body just escapes v=0 at infinity and if velocity is greater then v
> 0 at infinity.

12) KEPLERS LAWS:

The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of
the two foci.
A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out
equal areas during equal intervals of time.
The square of the orbital period of a planet is
proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its
orbit
Proof of first law is beyond JEE syllabus.
Proof of second law can be done by conservation of angular
momentum about an axis passing through the Earth.
To sweep out the same area the planet travels faster when
closer to the sun and slower when it is away from the sun.
The point on the ellipse when the planet is closest to the sun is
called Perihelion and the farthest point is called Apehelion.
Third law has been proved when we found the time period of a
satellite.