Gravitation is the attraction of bodies according to their mass.
Gravitation is the act and consequence of gravitating . In the field of physics , gravitation is the attraction of bodies according to their mass .
It can be said that gravitation or gravity is a phenomenon of nature through which bodies with mass attract each other. This is one of the fundamental interactions that occur in the natural environment. The Earth's orbit around the Sun and the Moon 's orbit around the Earth, for example, are produced by the effect of gravitation.
Physicists Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton proposed the most widespread theories of gravitation. It is important to highlight that this natural phenomenon provides cohesion and unity to the universe.
Gravitation operation
To understand how gravitation works, you must first know how to distinguish between mass (the amount of matter a body contains) and weight (a force that depends on the mass of the planet where it is measured). Gravitational interaction or force of gravity is the attraction that occurs in bodies according to their mass.
The description of gravitation formulated by Newton in 1687 is known as the law of universal gravitation . This Newton's law establishes a quantitative relationship, which he deduced empirically through observation, between the force of attraction and the bodies with mass that attract each other. According to Newton , this force depends on the value of the masses of the bodies that attract each other and the square of the distance that separates both.
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein made great theoretical contributions to the understanding of gravitation.
Newton's postulates
Isaac Newton formulated the law of universal gravitation in a book he titled Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica , whose official translation into Spanish gives us Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy . When bodies are at a considerable distance, Newton points out that the force of gravity acts very approximately, as if the total mass of each one were found exclusively in the center , that is, as if it were two points. . This appreciation allowed him to considerably simplify the calculations of the interactions between any pair of objects.
The formula that summarizes the above can be interpreted as follows: the force that can be seen between two bodies of different masses located at a certain distance is equivalent to the multiplication of their masses and also inversely proportional to the distance squared. The variable F represents the module of the force exerted by the two bodies (the module is a value that is equivalent to the length of the force vector), and its direction is found on the axis that joins them; With respect to G , it is the universal gravitation constant .
Universal gravitation constant
In the field of physics, the value that is obtained empirically to determine the intensity with which bodies attract each other is known as the universal gravitation constant . It should be noted that this variable is found in both Newton's and Einstein's theories. Its origin dates back to 1798, and its discovery is attributed to the physicist and chemist Henry Cavendish , born in France in 1731 and later naturalized as an Englishman. Although this constant is one of the oldest, its value is far from exact even today.
Beyond physics, the concept of gravitation is used to refer to the influence that something or someone exerts: «The gravitation of the Minister of Economy in the government is undeniable» , «I think that the presence of the Belgian striker will give another gravitation to the team's offensive" , "The comments of this religious fanatic have no relevance in our community" .