The Explanation:
The idea here is to show the acceleration due to gravity is constant. We use two Newtonian laws: the second law of motion, and the law of universal gravitation. Since the force driving the mass (m1) is the gravitation attraction with the Earth, we can set these equations equal and solve for a. You can see how the mass of the object under acceleration cancels out, and we are left with a number based solely on 1) The gravitation constant; 2) Mass of the Earth; 3) Radius of the Earth. You could substitute the mass and radii of other planets & bodies to find the same value for them.
Of course, this ignores any air resistance or other sources of friction.
No comments:
Post a Comment