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In classical mechanics, a gravitational field is a physical quantity. [5] A gravitational field can be defined using Newton's law of universal gravitation. Determined in this way, the gravitational field g around a single particle of mass M is a vector field consisting at every point of a vector pointing directly towards the particle. The ...
This formulation is dependent on the objects causing the field. The field has units of acceleration; in SI, this is m/s 2. Gravitational fields are also conservative; that is, the work done by gravity from one position to another is path-independent. This has the consequence that there exists a gravitational potential field V(r) such that
Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest. The study of gravity changes belongs to geodynamics.
A common misconception occurs between centre of mass and centre of gravity.They are defined in similar ways but are not exactly the same quantity. Centre of mass is the mathematical description of placing all the mass in the region considered to one position, centre of gravity is a real physical quantity, the point of a body where the gravitational force acts.
In physics, Gauss's law for gravity, also known as Gauss's flux theorem for gravity, is a law of physics that is equivalent to Newton's law of universal gravitation. It is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. It states that the flux (surface integral) of the gravitational field over any closed surface is proportional to the mass enclosed. Gauss's ...
However, a spherical harmonics series expansion captures the actual field with increasing fidelity. If Earth's shape were perfectly known together with the exact mass density ρ = ρ(x, y, z), it could be integrated numerically (when combined with a reciprocal distance kernel) to find an accurate model for Earth's gravitational field. However ...
In geodesy and geophysics, theoretical gravity or normal gravity is an approximation of Earth's gravity, on or near its surface, by means of a mathematical model.The most common theoretical model is a rotating Earth ellipsoid of revolution (i.e., a spheroid).
This quantity is sometimes referred to informally as little g (in contrast, the gravitational constant G is referred to as big G). The precise strength of Earth's gravity varies with location. The agreed-upon value for standard gravity is 9.80665 m/s 2 (32.1740 ft/s 2) by definition. [4]