Force of Gravity: F=mg and MmG/h2(sqared)

In summary, the force of gravity is F=mg. We know that that the gravitational force between Earth and object is F=MmG/h2(sqared). Can we say that mg=MmG/h2(sqared)? No, first of all F=mgh is not true as you have mixed the gravitational force with the gravitational potential energy. Second, you are mixing two things. E=mgh is an approximation which is valid as long as the gravitational field g is homogeneous. If you are working at the scale where F=MmG/r^2, this is no longer the case. In fact, the gravitational field is then g = MG/r^2.
  • #1
amjad-sh
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The force of gravity is F=mg.We know that that the gravitational force between Earth and object is F=MmG/h2(sqared).Can we say that mg=MmG/h2(sqared)?
 
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  • #2
No, first of all F=mgh is not true as you have mixed the gravitational force with the gravitational potential energy. Second, you are mixing two things. E=mgh is an approximation which is valid as long as the gravitational field g is homogeneous. If you are working at the scale where F=MmG/r^2, this is no longer the case. In fact, the gravitational field is then g = MG/r^2.
 
  • #3
I know,I edited the question.
 
  • #4
Still no. The h means different things in your different equations. The r in F = MmG/r^2 is the distance from the center of a spherical mass distribution, in the homogeneous approximation it is just the vertical distance from some arbitrary reference level. It is not the same h as appears in mgh for the potential energy.
 
  • #5
Yes, but how the both equations refers to the term "gravitational force" ?
 
  • #6
The gravitational force is given by ##\vec F = m\vec g##, where ##m## is the mass of an object and ##\vec g## is the gravitational field. If ##\vec g## is constant, this results in the potential energy being given by ##mgh##, where ##h## is the vertical distance from an arbitrary reference level and ##g## the magnitude of ##\vec g##. That the gravitational field is constant is a good approximation for relatively small systems, i.e., in your daily life.

When you start looking at things on a larger scale, this is no longer true. Instead, the gravitational field will be given by
$$
\vec g = -\frac{GM}{r^2}\vec e_r
$$
where ##G## is Newton's gravitational constant, ##M## the mass of the gravitating body, ##r## the distance to the body's center, and ##\vec e_r## a unit vector pointing towards the body's center. The potential energy will no longer be given by ##E = mgh##.
 
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  • #7
Ok,now let's take the approximated equation for which F=mg.
If we take the system as (earth+stone),the Earth will make a force F=mg on the stone and the stone will react by the same force but in opposite direction on the earth.
Now put the stone on a table(the system is now:earth+table+stone).Does this cancel the reaction force of the stone on earth?
 
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  • #8
amjad-sh said:
Now put the stone on a table(the system is now:earth+table+stone).Does this cancel the reaction force of the stone on earth?

Certainly (as long as 'cancel' means 'opposes'). The table exerts a force on the stone, keeping it from accelerating downward, but it also exerts a force on the Earth, keeping it from accelerating upward.
 
  • #9
amjad-sh said:
The force of gravity is F=mg.We know that that the gravitational force between Earth and object is F=MmG/h2(sqared).Can we say that mg=MmG/h2(sqared)?
Yes. They are the same. For G = 6.67384e-011N.(m/kg)2, M = mass of Earth = 5.97219e+024 kg, h = radius of spherical Earth = 6,371,000 meters, we get F = 9.8196 * m. So it gives the correct acceleration of gravity (9.8196 m/s2) at the Earth's surface, ignoring centrifugal acceleration. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_of_Earth section "Estimating g from the law of universal gravitation")
 
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  • #10
Drakkith said:
Certainly (as long as 'cancel' means 'opposes')
.
I meant by "cancel" that the force will disappear temporarily until the table is removed,because if this doesn't happen the summation of the internal forces will not end up to zero and this is impossible according to Newton's third law.
 
  • #11
No, there is still a gravitational force on the Earth from the stone, it is a force pair with the gravitational force from the Earth on the stone, as required by the third law.
 
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  • #12
amjad-sh said:
if this doesn't happen the summation of the internal forces will not end up to zero

How do you figure that?
 
  • #13
jtbell said:
How do you figure that?
As showed in the figure if you add the internal forces,all will be canceled except the normal force will remain.
[F earth/stone +F stone/earth +F earth/table +F table/earth +normal force of the table (due to the interaction with the stone)]is not equal to zero.
20150613_145456[1].jpg
 
  • #14
Orodruin said:
No, there is still a gravitational force on the Earth from the stone, it is a force pair with the gravitational force from the Earth on the stone, as required by the third law.
Yes, but this will lead that the summation of internal forces is not zero.
 
  • #15
Let's call your "normal force" Fstone/table. By Newton's 3rd law, there is also an Ftable/stone which is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
 
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  • #16
jtbell said:
Let's call your "normal force" Fstone/table. By Newton's 3rd law, there is also an Ftable/stone which is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
YES, YOU ARE RIGHT!
I don't know how I missed it haha.
thanks all :biggrin:.
 
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FAQ: Force of Gravity: F=mg and MmG/h2(sqared)

1. What is the force of gravity?

The force of gravity is the force that pulls objects towards each other. It is dependent on the mass of the objects and the distance between them.

2. What does F=mg represent?

F=mg is the formula for calculating the force of gravity. F represents force, m represents mass, and g represents the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.8 m/s² on Earth.

3. Why does the force of gravity decrease as distance increases?

The force of gravity is an inverse square law, meaning that as the distance between two objects increases, the force of gravity between them decreases. This is because the gravitational force is spread out over a larger area as distance increases.

4. How does the mass of an object affect the force of gravity?

The force of gravity between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses. This means that as the mass of an object increases, the force of gravity between it and another object also increases.

5. Is the force of gravity the same for all objects?

No, the force of gravity can vary depending on the mass and distance of the objects involved. For example, the force of gravity on Earth is stronger than the force of gravity on the moon due to the difference in mass and distance between the two objects.

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