Question

Mention some important characteristics of gravitational force.

Answer 1

Gravitational force:

1. The force of attraction between two objects is directly proportional to their masses and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
2. The formula is $\mathrm{F}=\mathrm{G}\frac{{\mathrm{m}}_1{\mathrm{m}}_2}{{\mathrm{R}}^2}$ where ${\mathrm{m}}_1,{\mathrm{m}}_2$are the masses of the body, $\mathrm{r}$ is the distance between them and $\mathrm{G}$ is the gravitational constant.

Characteristics of Gravitational force:

1. It is attractive in nature and acts between any two bodies in the universe irrespective of size or shape.
2. It obeys inverse square i.e., this force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between two bodies.
3. It is the same in every medium either air, water, space, or some other.
4. It is the weakest force in nature.
5. It is a long-range force.
6. This force acts along the line joining the centers of bodies. Hence, it is a central force.
7. It obeys Newton's third law of motion.