Law of Gravity & Stars in Galaxy

  • Thread starter Dark Universe
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Project
In summary, a student wants to do a project about the law of gravity and its effects on stars, their life cycle, and the galaxy as a whole. They need help with ideas and suggestions.
  • #1
Dark Universe
34
0
Now my teacher told me that i and a few classmates that we have to make a project about the law of gravity aplying to the stars orbiting the galaxy and how it affects the celectial bodies within the galaxy... Also The Galaxy's Gravity affecting the stars...
Can someone give me a few ideas...
If someone can help would be most gratefulThanks.
Dark Universe..:smile:
 
Last edited:
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #2
i suggest you to do a casestudy of the gravity of stars & its effects on surroundings all through its life ( i.e from birth to death of the star ) .
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #3
nivs said:
i suggest you to do a casestudy of the gravity of stars & its effects on surroundings all through its life ( i.e from birth to death of the star ) .

Thanks for the advice...
But i need ideas. I can study on my own, alright,
But if i'd wanted to do so i wouldn't ask for help on PF...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #4
nivs said:
i suggest you to do a casestudy of the gravity of stars & its effects on surroundings all through its life ( i.e from birth to death of the star ) .

And what about the galaxy's gravity? that's also included...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #5
Could you be a little more specific with what the project is about?
 
  • #6
Drakkith said:
Could you be a little more specific with what the project is about?

In general about the law of gravity...
-who invented it at first (that i know)
-How it works...
-how it causes objects to orbit around other objects of more mass...
-a few equations to prove it...
-How the gravity holds in one piece the galaxy...
-How it influenced matter to clump together and form the galaxy itself... etc, etc...
 
  • #7
Dark Universe said:
-who invented it at first (that i know)

Pretty sure you do! :biggrin:

-How it works...

Pretty sure no one does. Not yet. The cause of gravitation is a mystery hoped to be explained by the graviton.

-how it causes objects to orbit around other objects of more mass...

To be precise, this doesn't happen. What actually happens is both the objects revolve about their common center of mass. To start, look up binary stars. Observations and details of these stars will be a good idea for your project.

-How the gravity holds in one piece the galaxy...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_Center
 
  • #8
Dark Universe said:
-a few equations to prove it...

You can't really prove anything in physics. All you can do is fail very badly to disprove something. Almost all (edit: all, sorry) observations haven't gone against the current understanding of Gravity, General Relativity. (Note that some observations clearly go against one of GR and QM, as combining them results in utter mathematical nonsense, let alone observational nonsense.) So it's some observations that have "proven" it.

-How it influenced matter to clump together and form the galaxy itself...

Well, it's an attractive force. Lots of stuff in close proximity with each other will get attracted to each other and basically ... yea.

Sorry if this sounds rude, that is not my intention.
 
Last edited:
  • #9
Whovian said:
Almost all observations haven't gone against the current understanding of Gravity, General Relativity, and those that do just have to do with Quantum Mechanics, which basically gives nonsense when combined with General Relativity.

This is a bit off topic, but this is just wrong. We have NO observations where a quantum theory of gravity is necessary for a correct description, and ALL observations we have made are in agreement with GR. Now, the ones which are quantum in character simply are dominated by nongravitational effects such that the correction from including GR is much much smaller than the measured errors. Nevertheless, there is still no disagreement.
 
  • #10
You ought to compare and contrasts Newton's conception of gravity with Einstein's.
 
  • #11
Dark Universe said:
In general about the law of gravity...
-who invented it at first (that i know)
-How it works...
-how it causes objects to orbit around other objects of more mass...
-a few equations to prove it...
-How the gravity holds in one piece the galaxy...
-How it influenced matter to clump together and form the galaxy itself... etc, etc...

You should be able to explain most of this using the rules for classical Newtonian gravity. However if you want to be more accurate then you would need to delve into General Relativity which is MUCH more complicated. Pretty much everything you need to know about gravity can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation (Or on the other pages linked to from this article)

As for ideas, it seems like you already have the idea you need, you just need to write it out and explain all the above. (Which is your job, not ours. We cannot do your work for you.)
 
  • #12
Drakkith said:
(Which is your job, not ours. We cannot do your work for you.)

True Story Bro...:tongue::approve:
 
  • #13
For the galaxies - you would be a star if you included the strange way the spiral arms rotate. Find out why scientists have been puzzled by galaxy rotation and orbital speed of distant (from the center) objects compared to more central objects.
 
  • #14
Dark Universe said:
Now my teacher told me that i and a few classmates that we have to make a project about the law of gravity aplying to the stars orbiting the galaxy and how it affects the celectial bodies within the galaxy... Also The Galaxy's Gravity affecting the stars...
Can someone give me a few ideas...
If someone can help would be most gratefulThanks.
Dark Universe..:smile:

I suggest you to do a bit on stellar evolution.Often people find it fascinating , you can be extensive about it as much as you wish to. Try to understand the process rather than just making a slide or two on it.
Start with the Newton's law of gravity(cover centripetal force,etc) , make a slide or two stating it's significance , stellar evolution , Black hole , collapse of Newton's laws for specific cases.
 

1. What is the Law of Gravity?

The Law of Gravity is a fundamental law of physics that states that any two objects in the universe are attracted to each other with a force that is directly proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

2. How does the Law of Gravity apply to stars in a galaxy?

The Law of Gravity applies to stars in a galaxy in the same way that it applies to any other objects in the universe. The gravitational force between stars causes them to orbit around each other, forming galaxies. The larger the mass of a star, the stronger its gravitational pull.

3. What role does gravity play in the formation of galaxies?

Gravity is the driving force behind the formation of galaxies. As matter in the universe clumps together due to gravitational attraction, it forms large structures like galaxies. Stars are held together in a galaxy by the collective force of gravity.

4. Can the Law of Gravity be applied to the entire universe?

Yes, the Law of Gravity is a universal law that applies to all objects in the universe, from the smallest particles to the largest galaxies. It is one of the fundamental forces of nature and plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and behavior of the universe.

5. How does the Law of Gravity explain the movements of stars in a galaxy?

The Law of Gravity explains the movements of stars in a galaxy by stating that each star is attracted to all other stars in the galaxy, causing them to orbit around each other. The gravitational pull between stars also keeps them within the galaxy, preventing them from flying off into space.

Similar threads

Replies
10
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
2
Replies
48
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
21
Views
1K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
2
Replies
65
Views
7K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
1
Views
2K
Back
Top