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Newton's law of (universal) gravitation |
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The inverse square law, discovered by Newton, relating the magnitude of the gravitational force F between two bodies of mass m{TAG(tag=>sub)}1{TAG} and mass m{TAG(tag=>sub)}2{TAG} to the inverse square of the distance r between them:
F = Gm{TAG(tag=>sub)}1{TAG}m{TAG(tag=>sub)}2{TAG}/r{TAG(tag=>sup)}2{TAG},
where G is a fundamental constant, the (universal) gravitational constant, the value of which is 6.673 x 10{TAG(tag=>sup)}-11{TAG} N m{TAG(tag=>sup)}2{TAG} kg{TAG(tag=>sup)}-2{TAG}. For centuries, Newton\'s law of gravitation was almost unrivalled as a fundamental principle of physics. It explained Kepler\'s laws quantitatively for the first time. It remains the appropriate expression for describing gravitation at low velocities and low densities, though modern theories of gravity have progressed beyond Newton\'s (See general relativity). |
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| Other Terms : trigonometric functions (trigonometric ratios) | rounding error | HTML
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