Physical

Significance
of
Gravitational
Field
 What is Gravitational Field?
The gravitational field is similar to the
electromagnetic field, that is, electric
andmagnetic fields for charged particles
and magnets, respectively. A
gravitational field force is the weakest
force, electromagnetic field forces become
dominant over it.
It is also a type of force field and is analogous to electric and
magnetic fields for electrically charged particles and magnets,
respectively. There are two ways of showing the gravitational
field around an object: with arrows and with field lines.

Arrows line Field line

 Arrows line Field line

Arrows show the magnitude and direction of the force at different points in
space. The longer the arrow, the greater the magnitude. Field lines show the
direction the force would act on an object placed at that point in space. The
magnitude of the field is represented by the spacing of the lines. The closer
the lines are to each other, the higher the magnitude.
What is the equation for gravitational field?

The gravitational force or the weight acting on a mass m, in the

gravitational field 𝑔, is given by: 𝐹 = m 𝑔. At the surface of the
Earth, 𝑔 has a magnitude of , where is the radius of the Earth. Near
the earth the acceleration due to gravity depends on the distance of
an object from earth’s center.