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Universal Gravitation
Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation. This law states that every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force which is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the separation between the two objects. This law also maybe written as:

Where F is the gravitational force of attraction between the masses m1 and m2 G = universal gravitational constant (= 6.67 10-11 Nm2kg-2) Hence the dimensions of G are, So that the unit of G may also be expressed as m3kg-1s-2 Note that the gravitational force is ALWAYS attractive. In some text books it is represented with a minus sign in the equation, so that F = -Gm1m2/r2. The minus sign is only there to indicate that the force is attractive.

Gravitational field Strength

The gravitational force, F, exerted on a mass m on the earths surface is called its weight and is given by: Where g is termed GRAVITATIONAL FIELD STRENGTH and is defined as the force exerted per unit mass in a gravitational field g has a value of 9.81 N kg1 near the earths surface. If we apply Newtons law of Universal Gravitation to the mass on the earths surface we can write

Dividing both sides by m gives the following expression for the gravitational field strength:

The value of g is constant at all points on the earths surface. It is a maximum at the ground level and decreases according to an inverse square law at distances above the surface.

We cannot see or touch the earths gravitational field, but we can try to model it using field lines or lines of force. In a field line diagram, the direction of the field line at a point gives the direction of the force of attraction that would be felt by a small mass placed there. The closeness (relative density) of field lines on the diagram is an indication of the strength of the field.

The field lines are directed radially inwards, because at any point in the Earths field, a body will feel a force directed toward the centre of the Earth. The field lines become more spread out as the distance from the Earth increases, indicating the diminishing strength of the field. Note that the field is really 3-dimensional, but of course on paper, we can only take a 2-dimensional slice of it. This is a radial or spherical field.

Close to the surface of the Earth, the field lines look like:

They are directed downwards (the direction in which a body near the Earths surface would feel a gravitational force), and they are parallel and equidistant indicating that the field is constant, or uniform. Gravitational Potential Gravitational potential is the energy required to bring a unit mass from infinity to some point in a gravitational field, this is work done by gravity. Gravitational potential is the energy per unit mass at a point in the field and is a scalar quantity:

GM R

V is the gravitational potential (Jkg-1) M is the mass (kg) causing the gravitational field R is the distance (m) from the centre of the gravitational field The work done, W, in moving from one point to another in a gravitational field: W = mV Where V is the difference in gravitational potential between the two places and m is the mass of the object. The gravitational field strength is related to gravitational potential by the following equation:

V and V = g r. r Where g is in Nkg-1, r is in metres and V is in Jkg-1. g

Equipotentials An equipotential is a surface of constant potential. No change of potential energy occurs when an object is moved along an equipotential. A table top is an example of an equipotential surface since it takes a fixed amount of energy to raise a 1kg mass from the floor to the table top, but doesnt require any further work done against gravity to slide the mass across the table surface. On a larger scale, around a planet for example - where the gravitational field is radial, the equipotentials form concentric circles arranged around the centre of mass.

Circular Orbits (Satellite Orbits)

We shall concentrate on circular orbits at constant speed only (elliptical orbits are well beyond the scope of this CAPE course). If a satellite moves at constant speed in a circle then the radius vector has to sweep out equal areas in equal times. Suppose this satellite is orbiting the earth. What is the only force acting on the satellite orbiting the earth? (This is the gravitational pull from the earth if we neglect the pulls from other objects in the solar system and beyond.) And if the satellite is moving at constant speed in a circle it must have centripetal force acting on it. What is the expression for centripetal force? F = mv2/r What is the expression for the gravitational force? F = Gm1m2/r2 Equating these expressions, we have

Where mE is the mass of the earth and m is the mass of the satellite. Cancelling m and r on both sides of the equation gives

But the speed v can be calculated as distance travelled in one orbit (2r) divided by the time taken, T:

Plugging this into the previous equation, and cancelling the m terms on both sides gives us:

Rearranging again gives:

Or in other words, since (42/GM) is constant, the square of the period of orbit is proportional to the cube of the radius of the orbit Keplers third law. This law shows that the further away a satellite is, the longer its period of orbit (but in a non-linear way). It is also obvious from these derivations that both the speed and the orbital period of an earth satellite depend only on the radius of its orbit. Although this law (as are all of Keplers laws we will not discuss the two first laws!) was originally discovered for the motion of the planets, it works equally well for all satellite motion for example the motion of the Moon and artificial satellites around the Earth. We just need to realise that the actual mE in the constant (42/GmE) is the mass of the Sun in the case of planets (or the mass of whichever body is being orbited).

Geostationary Satellites
We know from Keplers third law that the further away a satellite is from the body it is orbiting, the longer its orbital period. If an orbiting satellite had a period of 24 hours, and you saw it overhead at, say 10.00 am, when would you next see it overhead? (Because the Earth would have completed one rotation in the same time it took the satellite to complete one orbit, it would next be overhead at 10.00 am the next day. Such a satellite is said to be geosynchronous.)

Not to scale

A difficult question if you wanted the satellite to remain directly overhead (i.e. above a fixed point on the Earth) at all times (not just once per day) where on the Earth would you have to be?

[All satellites (in circular orbits) orbit around the centre of the Earth. The only points on the Earths surface that orbit around the centre of the Earth are those on the equator. Thus, you would have to be on the equator.] If a satellite has a period of 24 hours and orbits above the equator such that it always appears to be above one point on the equator, it is known as a geostationary satellite, and its orbit is a geostationary orbit. A geostationary orbit has a radius of around 42 400 km (over 6 times the radius of the Earth) i.e. at a height above the Earths surface of around 36 000 km. (These figures will be calculated in the worked examples that follow). Those geosynchronous satellites which are not geostationary would seem from the equator to wander first north, and then south and then back again over a 24 hour period. Geostationary satellites are predominantly used for communications. Satellite TV companies use geostationary satellites to cover a constant area on the Earths surface hence you point your satellite dish receiver in the direction of the geostationary satellite. Three geostationary satellites placed into orbit 120 degrees apart above the equator would be able to cover the entire Earth (except for very near the poles). Because geostationary satellites have to be launched so high (other satellites orbit as low as a few hundred km), the energy and costs required for launching a satellite into geostationary orbit are high.

GPS Satellites
The GPS (Global-Positioning-System) is a set of 24 satellites scattered all over the sky. With an appropriate hand-held device the GPS network allows a user to determine their precise position on the surface of the Earth to very high accuracy. The GPS satellites are not in geo-stationary orbits, but instead each GPS satellite orbits the earth twice every time the earth rotates once. Therefore, a satellite will repeat the same orbit twice a day. In order to achieve the two orbits twice a day, scientists correctly calculated that they needed to be placed at an altitude of 20,200km. The satellites are equipped with thrusters that are used to ensure that theyre in the right place if they wander off the path from time to time.

Weightlessness in Orbit
Weightlessness is simply a sensation experienced by an individual when there are no external objects touching his body and exerting a push or pull upon it. Weightless sensations exist when all contact forces are removed. These sensations are common to any situation in which you are momentarily (or perpetually) in a state of free fall. When in free fall, the only force acting upon your body is the force of gravity - a non-contact force. Since the force of gravity cannot be felt without any other opposing forces, you would have no sensation of it. You would feel weightless when in a state of free fall.

Note: Weightless sensations exist when all contact forces are removed. This means that the
reaction force is equal to zero. Consider an astronaut in a satellite which is orbiting the earth.

The forces acting on him are his weight (mg) and the reaction of the seat on him (R). Thus Resultant force on astronaut = R mg The acceleration of the satellite = a = g (directed towards the centre of the earth) Thus Resultant force on astronaut = ma = mg (according to Newtons 2nd law)

As a result the astronaut gets the sensation of weightlessness!