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m1m 2
Fg G
r2
m1m2 m1m2
F12 G r12 G r
r 2
r 3
Free-Fall Acceleration
r2 (0.20)2
m1m2 6.00
m1 m2 5.00 kg
m1 2.00 kg ; m2 3.00 kg
m1 3.00 kg ; m2 2.00 kg
2. Kepler’s laws
1. All planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun
at one focal point.
2. The radius vector drawn from the Sun to a
planet sweeps out equal areas in equal time intervals.
3. The square of the orbital period of any planet is proportional to
the cube of the semimajor axis of the elliptical orbit.
T : period of revolution, a : semimajor axis T 2 K Sa3
K S 2.97 1019 s2 /m3
a
CIRCULAR ORBIT : A planet of mass Mp moving around
the Sun of mass MS in a circular orbit
EXAMPLE 2
Calculate the mass of the Sun using the fact that the period
of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is 3.156107 s and its
distance from the Sun is 1.4961011 m.
3. Gravitational Potential Energy
dU
F
dr
m1m2
dU Fdr G 2 dr
r
Uf rf r
m1m2 f
dr
U f U i dU G dr Gm1 2
m
Ui ri r 2
ri r 2
1 1
U f U i Gm1m 2
rf r i
We put :
m1m2 m1m2
U f G ; U i G
rf ri
m1m2
In general: U G
r
To compare:
Gravitational force near the Earth’s surface: F mg