law of universal gravitation

E5005

gravitational law inverse-square law physical law

The law of universal gravitation is Newton’s fundamental physical law stating that every pair of masses in the universe attracts each other with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (5)

Surface form	Occurrences
Newton's law of universal gravitation	2
Newtonian gravity	2
Newtonian theory of universal gravitation	1
Newton’s law of gravitation	1
Newton’s law of universal gravitation	1

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	gravitational law ⓘ inverse-square law ⓘ physical law ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	law of universal gravitation ⓘ surface form: Newton’s law of gravitation law of universal gravitation ⓘ surface form: Newton’s law of universal gravitation
appliesTo	every pair of masses in the universe ⓘ
approximationOf	general relativity in weak-field limit ⓘ
assumes	instantaneous action at a distance ⓘ point masses or spherically symmetric mass distributions ⓘ
category	law of universal gravitation self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Newtonian gravity
dependsOn	distance between the interacting bodies ⓘ masses of the interacting bodies ⓘ
describes	gravitational attraction between masses ⓘ
domainOfValidity	non-relativistic speeds ⓘ weak gravitational fields ⓘ
explains	Kepler’s laws of planetary motion ⓘ free-fall acceleration near Earth ⓘ tides qualitatively ⓘ
field	celestial mechanics ⓘ classical mechanics ⓘ
forceDirection	along the line joining the centers of mass ⓘ
formulatedBy	Isaac Newton ⓘ
historicalPeriod	17th century ⓘ
ignores	quantum effects ⓘ relativistic effects ⓘ
implies	gravitational force decreases with distance ⓘ gravitational interaction is universal ⓘ
includesConstant	gravitational constant ⓘ
influenced	development of celestial mechanics ⓘ development of classical mechanics ⓘ
inspiredBy	Kepler’s laws of planetary motion ⓘ
inverselyProportionalTo	square of the distance between the masses ⓘ
languageOfOriginalPublication	Latin ⓘ
mathematicalForm	F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2 ⓘ
predicts	elliptical orbits under central gravitational force ⓘ
proportionalTo	product of the interacting masses ⓘ
publicationYear	1687 ⓘ
publishedIn	Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ⓘ
relatedTo	Cavendish experiment ⓘ
replacedBy	general relativity in strong gravitational fields ⓘ
statesThat	every mass attracts every other mass with a gravitational force ⓘ
symbolOfConstant	G ⓘ
typeOfForce	central force ⓘ
usedIn	calculating weight near Earth’s surface ⓘ describing satellite orbits ⓘ predicting planetary motion ⓘ
usedToDetermine	value of the gravitational constant G ⓘ

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

law of universal gravitation → alsoKnownAs → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newton’s law of universal gravitation

law of universal gravitation → alsoKnownAs → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newton’s law of gravitation

Newtonian gravitational constant G → appearsInLaw → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newton's law of universal gravitation

Newtonian gravitational constant G → appearsInTheory → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newtonian gravity

Cavendish experiment → basedOn → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newton's law of universal gravitation

law of universal gravitation → category → law of universal gravitation self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newtonian gravity

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica → contains → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica → formulates → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

Isaac Newton → knownFor → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis → supportedTheory → law of universal gravitation ⓘ

this entity surface form: Newtonian theory of universal gravitation