Chapter 13 Universal Gravitation

Newtons law of Universal Gravitation All objects attract each other. The attractive force depends on the masses of the two objects and the distance between their centers of mass. The gravitational force is small unless at least one of the objects involved has a relatively large mass. FG = G m1m2 / r2 G Universal Gravitational Constant 6.673 x 10-11 Nm2 / kg2 m1,m2 masses of the objects (in kg) r distance between the objects Earlier, we said that your weight on the surface of the Earth, which is the gravitational force of the Earth acting on you, is: W = mg (where g = 9.8 m/s2)

If you are standing on the Earths surface, the distance between y our center of mass and the Earths is about equal to the Earths radius (RE = 6.37 x 106 m). If ME is the mass of the Earth (5.98 x 1024 kg) and mY is your mass, then the force of gravity on you at the Earths surface is FG = G ME mY / RE2 = (GME / RE2 ) mY = (9.8 m/s2) mY = W So thats where the 9.8 m/s2 comes from. To find out the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of any other planet or moon, just substitute the radius and mass of that planet or moon. For example, our Moon has a mass of 7.36 x 1022 Kg and a radius of 1.74 x 106 m. Substituting those values above will yield the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of the moon, which is about 1.62 m/s2. If you are at a height (altitude) h above the Earths surface, then the distance between your C.M. and the Earths C.M. is (RE +h). So, at a height h above the Earths surface, the force of gravity on you would be FG = (G ME / (RE + h)2 ) mY so, the value of g also varies with altitude above the Earth g = G ME / (RE + h)2 You can substitute the values of mass and radius for any other planet or moon to find the value of g and the gravitational force on an object at any altitude above that planet or moon.

Satellites in circular orbits When a satellite (including natural moons) orbits a planet in a circular orbit, the centripetal force F = mv2 /r is provided by the gravitational force. This is true of any object in a circular orbit around any other object. Consider a satellite of mass mS in orbit around the Earth at an altitude h above the Earths surface. Then FC mS v2 / (RE +h) = FG G ME mS / (RE +h)2

Solving for v, we find that the (tangential) orbital velocity of the satellite in its path around the Earth is: v = [G ME / (RE + h) ]1/2 So, for any given altitude above the Earth, a satellite must have a very particular orbital speed. If you know one, you know the other. Since you know the length of the circular orbital path is C = 2 (RE + h), you can calculate the time for one complete orbit, called the Period (T), if you know at what altitude above Earths surface the satellite orbits. For example, the Space Shuttle typically orbits at an altitude of about 300 km (300,000m). Its orbital velocity at that altitude is about 7700 m/s and so it takes about 90 minutes to complete one orbit. A geosynchronous satellite orbit is an orbit with a period which exactly matches the Earths rotational period (about 24 hours). Geosynchronous satellites appear to an observer on Earth to stay at one point in the sky, so a satellite dish antenna aimed at a geosynchronous satellite doesnt have to move. You should be able to calculate the altitude and orbital speed of such a satellite by the time you finish this chapter. Keplers Laws of Planetary Motion Keplers three laws of planetary motion also apply to any satellite orbiting any central body as long as we substitute in the appropriate mass for the central body. Here they are: 1. All planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus. 2. The radius vector drawn from the Sun to a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal time intervals.

3. The square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit. We need to recall what an ellipse is and how it is measured. See figure 13.5 on p 396 in your text. The 3rd law states that T2 is proportional to a3, where a is the semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit. The constant of proportionality is (42 / G MS ), where MS is the mass of the Sun. For an object orbiting another central body (like the Moon orbiting the Earth), substitute the mass of that central body for MS . Gravitational Potential Energy (revisited) If youve studied chemistry, you may remember that the energy of an electron in a hydrogen atom in its lowest energy state is -13.6 eV. What does minus energy mean? It means that the electron must be given 13.6 eV of energy in order to completely free it from the electrical attraction of the nucleus. When studying gravity, a similar approach is taken. The potential energy of a body of mass m2 at a distance r from a body of mass m1 is U = - Gm1m2 / r The minus sign means that you must add that much energy to the body in order to completely free it from the other bodys gravitational pull (in other words, to make r = infinity). When a body is in orbit, it also has some kinetic energy, which is mv2. So the total energy of a body in orbit around another body is E = mv2 GMm/r For a circular orbit, it can be shown (see page 406) that this total mechanical energy is E = -GMm/2r for a circular orbit, and E = -GMm/2r for an elliptical orbit. From this, we can calculate what the escape speed is that a body must have in order to completely escape the gravitational pull from the surface of a planet, for example. (See page 407). For a planet of radius R and mass M, the escape speed from the planets surface is v = (2GM/R)

Nuff said (writ)