Newton's law of gravitation

noun

1. the principle that two particles attract each other with forces directly proportional to the product of their masses divided by the square of the distance between them

Newton's law of gravitation

1. The principle that expresses the force of gravitational attraction between two bodies as a function of their mass and their distance. Expressed mathematically, F = Gm₁m₂/d² where F is the force in Newtons, m ₁ and m ₂ are the masses of the bodies in kilograms, G is the gravitational constant, and d is the distance between the bodies in meters. Newton's Principle of Gravitation is an example of an inverse square law.

2. Also called law of gravitation law of universal gravitation

3. See Note at gravity

Example Sentences

If this alternative gravity theory is correct, it would be a "major revolution," Loeb said, emphasizing it would be at the scale of Newton's law of gravitation and Einstein's law of gravity.

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Surprisingly, physicists still can’t agree on the value of the ‘big G’ constant that features both in Isaac Newton’s law of gravitation — which dates back to the year 1687 — and in Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

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Of course, this marvelous demonstration of gravitational force was only a preamble to Cavendish’s ultimate goal to measure the density of Earth, which he succeeded in doing by using the measurements taken from his experiment and applying them to Newton’s law of gravitation.

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Although the discrepancy between the different values of G might indicate an unknown or overlooked error in the torque method, it is also possible that Newton’s law of gravitation does not accurately describe the interaction of masses at the length scales of a lab, notes Peter Mohr, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

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From evolution by natural selection to quantum mechanics and Newton’s law of gravitation, these types of theories can unify a variety of phenomena that we see in the world, describe the mechanisms of the universe beyond what we can see with our own eyes, and yield incredible predictions about how the world should work.

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