5.4 Gravitational Fields Flashcards
what is a gravitational field?
a gravitational field is the region around a body in which other bodies will feel a force due to the mass of the body
gravitational fields are due
To objects having a mass
The field lines around a spherical mass, like a planet, form a
Radial field
what do gravitational field lines show?
Field lines show the direction the force would act on an object placed at that point in space. The magnitude of the field is represented by the spacing of the lines. The closer the lines are to each other, the higher the magnitude.
what is gravitational field strength defined as?
the gravitational field strength at any point in a gravitational field is the force acting per unit mass at that point, g = F / m (units are NKg^-1)
how do gravitational field lines act around a spherical mass?
they act radially inwards, towards the centre because spherical objects can be modelled as a point mass at its centre
what happens to the field lines of Earth as you get closer and closer to the surface of the Earth?
the gravitational field lines become uniform and straight, the lines converge to become almost parallel, the radial field becomes apparent the further we move away from the Earth and observe it from space
state Newton’s law of gravitation?
Newton’s law of gravitation states that the gravitational force of attraction between two point masses is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their separation
what is the equation for Newton’s law of gravitation?
F = - GMm / r^2
where M and m are the masses of the two bodies and r is the separation of their centres
(the minus shows it is an attractive force)
what is G?
the universal gravitational constant, 6.67 x 10^-11
what law does Newton’s law of gravitation follow in terms of force? (think of intensity)
follows an inverse square law, forces gets smaller with distance because the strength changes
a spherical mass is often assumed to be what?
a point mass with all its mass concentrated at the centre
what is the other equation for gravitational field strength for a point mass and how can you get to it?
first g = F / m
F = - GMm / r^2, equate Fs
leading to g = - GMm / mr^2, cancel little m
leading to g = - GM / r^2
what is gravitational field strength equal to on earth?
g = 9.81 ms^-2 (acceleration due to freefall)
what are Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion?
- planets travel orbit around the sun in elliptical orbits and the sun located at one of the two foci
- equal area covered in equal time
dtT1 = dtT2
Then
dtA1 = dtA2 - the time period of the orbit squared is proportional to the mean radius of the orbit cubed, or T^2 ∝ r^3
what is Kepler’s third law?
kepler’s third law states that the square of the period of a planet orbiting the Sun is proportional to the mean radius of its orbit cubed (his law also applies to other planetary stems, to the orbits of moons around planets and to binary stars)
what is a geostationary orbit?
a geostationary orbit is an orbit of the Earth made by a satellite that has the same time period and orbital direction as the rotation of the Earth (i.e 24 hours) and is in the equatorial plane
what are geostationary satellites used for?
- broadcasting TV signals and relating mobile telephone signals
- monitoring the weather and changes in the environment
- monitoring air traffic
what is the equation that relates time period to mean radius (kepler’s third law)?
T^2 = (4π^2 / GM ) x r^3
how do you derive the equation or get to T^2 = (4π^2 / GM ) x r^3 ?
F = - GMm / r^2 equate the gravitational force to centripetal force mrω^2/ r = GMm / r^ substituting ω = 2π / T gets you to... T^2 = (4π^2 / GM ) x r^3
what is gravitational potential?
gravitational potential at a point in a gravitational field is defined a the work done in moving unit mass from infinity (where the gravitational potential is zero) to that point
what is gravitational potential energy?
the gravitational potential energy, E, of a body in a gravitational field is the work/energy required to move a body of mass, m, from infinity to that point in the field
what is the equation for gravitational potential?
Vg = - GM / r
at a distance r from a point mass M
what is the equation for gravitational potential energy?
E = mVg (bit like V = E / Q but for mass) E = - GMm / r
