17 - gravitational fields Flashcards
Define gravitational field
a region in space where a mass experiences a gravitational force
Define centre of mass
the point at which we consider the total mass of the object to be concentrated
Define Newton’s law of gravitation
any two point masses attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversly proportional to the square of their seperation
Define gravitational field strength
the gravitational force exerted per unit mass on a small object placed at that point
Define gravitational potential
at a point is the work done per unit mass in bringing a point mass from infinity to that point
Define orbital period
the time taken by an object to complete one orbit
Define geostationary orbit
an orbit of a satellite such that the satellite remains directly above the same point of the earth at all times