NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1055063
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Feb
Pages: 3
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
How Spherical Is a Cube (Gravitationally)?
Sanny, Jeff; Smith, David
Physics Teacher, v53 n2 p111-113 Feb 2015
An important concept that is presented in the discussion of Newton's law of universal gravitation is that the gravitational effect external to a spherically symmetric mass distribution is the same as if all of the mass of the distribution were concentrated at the center. By integrating over ring elements of a spherical shell, we show that the gravitational force on a point mass outside the shell is the same as that of a particle with the same mass as the shell at its center. This derivation works for objects with spherical symmetry while depending on the fact that the gravitational force between two point masses varies inversely as the square of their separation. If these conditions are not met, then the problem becomes more difficult. In this paper, we remove the condition of spherical symmetry and examine the gravitational force between two uniform cubes.
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A