Gravity

David Hardy
Bryce Wilson
Barrett Johnson

Physics 1010
Salt Lake Community College

Abstract
Gravity. What is gravity? Well, that depends on whose gravitational theory were talking
about. This paper will be going over the following two theories, as well as touching
base on some other related information:

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

Universal Gravitation
The Gravitational Constant
The Cavendish Experiment

and...

Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity

General Relativity
Special Relativity
Gravity and Light

Gravity

If it werent for Isaac Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation, and Albert Einstein Theory
of Relativity, the world we live in, would most likely be very different today. Their
theories opened up many doors, and made many people (Including themselves) think
about and question the world around them. These questions not only allowed us, as a
species, to increase our knowledge, but made it possible for us to reach new heights in
transportation, on the Earth and in space.

Newton's law of universal gravitation. It wasnt until about 100 years ago (When
Albert Einsteins Theory of Relativity was published), that Newtons Law of Universal
Gravitation was superseded. But even then, it continues to be used as an excellent
approximation of the effects of gravity in most applications, to this day. So what exactly
is Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation? Well, its the Universal Law for when any two
bodies in the universe attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the
product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.

If we take a look at the figure above, we can see Newtons Law:

F is the force between the masses

m1 is the first mass
m2 is the second mass
r is the distance between the centers of the masses.
G is the Gravitational Constant (Not to be confused with g, the acceleration due to
gravity on Earth)

Gravitational Constant, whats that? The Gravitational Constant is an empirical

physical constant involved in the calculation(s) of gravitational force between two

bodies. Its accurate value was determined to be G = 6.67410 11 N(m/kg)2. How
could we have possibly determined a Universal Gravitational Constant though? You
can thank Henry Cavendish and his Cavendish Experiment for that.
The Cavendish Experiment was the first experiment to measure the force of
gravity between masses in the laboratory and the first to yield accurate values for the
Gravitational Constant. The following paragraphs below describe the experiment and
its construction.

The apparatus constructed by Cavendish was a torsion balance made of a sixfoot (1.8 m) wooden rod suspended from a wire, with a 2-inch (51 mm) diameter 1.61pound (0.73 kg) lead sphere attached to each end. Two 12-inch (300 mm) 348-pound
(158 kg) lead balls were located near the smaller balls, about 9 inches (230 mm) away,
and held in place with a separate suspension system. The experiment measured the
faint gravitational attraction between the small balls and the larger ones.

The

two large balls were positioned on alternate sides of the horizontal wooden arm of the
balance. Their mutual attraction to the small balls caused the arm to rotate, twisting the
wire supporting the arm. The arm stopped rotating when it reached an angle where the
twisting force of the wire balanced the combined gravitational force of attraction
between the large and small lead spheres. By measuring the angle of the rod and
knowing the twisting force (torque) of the wire for a given angle, Cavendish was able to
determine the force between the pairs of masses. Since the gravitational force of the
Earth on the small ball could be measured directly by weighing it, the ratio of the two
forces allowed the density of the earth to be calculated, using Newton's law of

gravitation.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/question2321.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavendish_experiment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_constant

General Relativity:
In 1905, Albert Einstein determined that the laws of physics are the same for all
non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of
the motion of all observers. This was the theory of special relativity. It introduced a new
framework for all of physics and proposed new concepts of space and time.
Einstein then spent 10 years trying to include acceleration in the theory and published
his theory of general relativity in 1915. In it, he determined that massive objects cause a
distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity.
Two objects exert a force of attraction on one another known as "gravity." Sir
Isaac Newton quantified the gravity between two objects when he formulated his three
laws of motion. The force tugging between two bodies depends on how massive each
one is and how far apart the two lie. Even as the center of the Earth is pulling you
toward it (keeping you firmly lodged on the ground), your center of mass is pulling back
at the Earth. But the more massive body barely feels the tug from you, while with your
much smaller mass you find yourself firmly rooted thanks to that same force. Yet
Newton's laws assume that gravity is an innate force of an object that can act over a
distance.

Albert Einstein, in his theory of special relativity, determined that the laws of
physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and he showed that the speed
of light within a vacuum is the same no matter the speed at which an observer travels.
As a result, he found that space and time were interwoven into a single continuum
known as space-time. Events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur
at different times for another. As he worked out the equations for his general theory of
relativity, Einstein realized that massive objects caused a distortion in space-time.
Imagine setting a large body in the center of a trampoline. The body would press down
into the fabric, causing it to dimple. A marble rolled around the edge would spiral inward
toward the body, pulled in much the same way that the gravity of a planet pulls at rocks
in space.
Although instruments can neither see nor measure space-time, several of the
phenomena predicted by its warping have been confirmed. Light around a massive
object, such as a black hole, is bent, causing it to act as a lense for the things that lie
behind it. Astronomers routinely use this method to study stars and galaxies behind
massive objects. Einsteins Cross, a quasar in the Pegasus Constellation, is an
excellent example of gravitational lensing. The quasar is about 8 billion light-years from
Earth, and sits behind a galaxy that is 400 million light-years away. Four images of the
quasar appear around the galaxy because the intense gravity of the galaxy bends the
light coming from the quasar. Gravitational lensing can allow scientists to see some
pretty cool things, but until recently, what they spotted around the lens has remained
fairly static. However, since the light traveling around the lens takes a different path,

each traveling over a different amount of time, scientists were able to observe a
supernova occur four different times, as it was magnified by a massive galaxy.
General Relativity and Newton's gravitational theory make essentially identical
predictions as long as the strength of the gravitational field is weak, which is our usual
experience. However, there are several crucial predictions where the two theories
diverge, and thus can be tested with careful experiments.
1. The orientation of Mercury's orbit is found to precess in space over time, as indicated in
the adjacent figure (the magnitude of the effect is greatly exaggerated for purposes of
illustration). This is commonly called the "precession of the perihelion", because it
causes the position of the perihelion to move around the center of mass. Only part of
this can be accounted for by perturbations in Newton's theory. There is an extra 43
seconds of arc per century in this precession that is predicted by the Theory of General
Relativity and observed to occur (recall that a second of arc is 1/3600 of an angular
degree). This effect is extremely small, but the measurements are very precise and can
detect such small effects very well.
2. Einstein's theory predicts that the direction of light propagation should be changed in a
gravitational field. Precise observations indicate that Einstein is right, both about the
effect and its magnitude. We have already seen a spectacular consequence of the
deflection of light in a gravitational field: gravitational lensing.
3. The General Theory of Relativity predicts that light coming from a strong gravitational
field should have its wavelength shifted to larger values (a redshift). Once again,
detailed observations indicate such a redshift, and that its magnitude is correctly given
by Einstein's theory.
4. The electromagnetic field can have waves in it that carry energy and that we call light.
Likewise, the gravitational field can have waves that carry energy and are called

gravitational waves. These may be thought of as ripples in the curvature of space-time

that travel at the speed of light. Just as accelerating charges can emit electromagnetic
waves, accelerating masses can emit gravitational waves. However gravitational waves
are difficult to detect because they are very weak and no conclusive evidence has yet
been reported for their direct observation. They have been observed indirectly in the
binary pulsar. Because the arrival time of pulses from the pulsar can be measured very
precisely, it can be determined that the period of the binary system is gradually
decreasing. It is found that the rate of period change (about 75 millionths of a second
each year) is what would be expected for energy being lost to gravitational radiation, as
predicted by the Theory of General Relativity.

Redd, N. (2015, April 15). Einsteins Theory of General Relativity: A Simplified

Explanation | Space.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015, from
http://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html
Gravitation and the General Theory of Relativity. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/gravity. The

Gravity and Light

The Constancy of the Speed of Light
1. The speed of light, which is the speed limit of the Universe, is one of the most incredible
phenomena in cosmology. The idea of a speed limit is baffling enough, but what is
crazier is the idea that the closer you get to achieving this terminal velocity the less time
passes. This is the theory of Special Relativity.
2. This theory is entirely dependent on three main things. Time, Light, and a Reference
Frame sought by a single individual. Seeing as it is impossible to ever repeat the same

reference frame you can see how things can get particularly difficult to measure, but
after finding out the speed of light through Maxwell we are able to compare magnitudes,
then the only things left to measure are time and distance.
3. In Newtonian mechanics, increasing the distance while having the same magnitude
would ensure that the time lapse of achieving and object motion from point A to point B
would increase. But in the case of light, its speed is constant. Therefore, even if the
distance is greater, the time lapse from point A to point B is the same.

The Tug of Gravity

1. Two objects exert a force of attraction on one another known as "gravity." Sir Isaac
Newton quantified the gravity between two objects when he formulated his three laws of
motion. The force tugging between two bodies depends on how massive each one is
and how far apart the two lie. Even as the center of the Earth is pulling you toward it
(keeping you firmly lodged on the ground), your center of mass is pulling back at the
Earth. But the more massive body barely feels the tug from you, while with your much
smaller mass you find yourself firmly rooted thanks to that same force. Yet Newton's
laws assume that gravity is an innate force of an object that can act over a distance.

http://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_relativity

Conclusion:

Isaac Newton and Albert Einsteins theories opened up many doors, and made many
people (Including themselves) think about and question the world around them. These
questions not only allowed us, as a species, to increase our knowledge, but made it
possible for us to reach new heights in transportation, on the Earth and in space.
If it werent for Isaac Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation, and Albert Einstein Theory
of Relativity, the world we live in, would most likely be very different today.