Physics › Section D · Circular motion and gravitation › Topic D.4
Newton's universal law of gravitation
The pull that drops an apple is the same pull that holds the Moon in orbit. Newton's law of gravitation describes it with one short equation, and from that equation comes the value of g, the weight of a planet and the reason astronauts float.
In this topic
- One force for the sky and the ground
- The law of universal gravitation
- The gravitational constant
- Worked example: the pull between two people
- The inverse-square law
- Where g comes from
- Worked example: gravity on the Moon
- Worked example: gravity at the space station
- Tides: an uneven pull
- Weightlessness and free fall
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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