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tags: #physics #gravity #classical-mechanics

Isaac Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation was a monumental achievement that unified the terrestrial and celestial realms under a single mathematical principle. It explained both the falling of an apple and the orbit of the Moon with the same law.

The law states that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.

The formula is:
[ F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2} ]
Where:

• F is the gravitational force.
• G is the gravitational constant.
• m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects.
• r is the distance between the centers of the masses.

This single law was able to derive and explain the empirical findings of his predecessors:

• It provided the physical mechanism for Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion.
• It was consistent with the findings of Galileo's Gravity Experiments.
• It firmly established the heliocentric model on a solid physical and mathematical footing.

This law became the cornerstone of the Classical Physics Worldview and remained the definitive description of gravity for over 200 years, until the arrival of Einstein's General Relativity.

Reference

Coursera, "Question Reality: Matter"
The Principia by Isaac Newton