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The most common definition of weight found in introductory physics textbooks defines weight as the force exerted on a body by gravity. [1] [12] This is often expressed in the formula W = mg, where W is the weight, m the mass of the object, and g gravitational acceleration.
A set of equations describing the trajectories of objects subject to a constant gravitational force under normal Earth-bound conditions.Assuming constant acceleration g due to Earth's gravity, Newton's law of universal gravitation simplifies to F = mg, where F is the force exerted on a mass m by the Earth's gravitational field of strength g.
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.
[9]: 28 Newton's original formula was: where the symbol means "is proportional to". To make this into an equal-sided formula or equation, there needed to be a multiplying factor or constant that would give the correct force of gravity no matter the value of the masses or distance between them (the gravitational constant).
The standard gravitational parameter GM appears as above in Newton's law of universal gravitation, as well as in formulas for the deflection of light caused by gravitational lensing, in Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and in the formula for escape velocity. This quantity gives a convenient simplification of various gravity-related formulas.
The specific weight, also known as the unit weight (symbol γ, the Greek letter gamma), is a volume-specific quantity defined as the weight W divided by the volume V of a material: = / Equivalently, it may also be formulated as the product of density, ρ, and gravity acceleration, g: = Its unit of measurement in the International System of Units (SI) is newton per cubic metre (N/m 3), with ...
This toy uses the principles of center of mass to keep balance when sitting on a finger. In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero.
In physics, mass is not the same as weight, even though mass is often determined by measuring the object's weight using a spring scale, rather than balance scale comparing it directly with known masses. An object on the Moon would weigh less than it does on Earth because of the lower gravity, but it would still have the same mass.