Frank L. H. Wolfs
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Slide 40
Newton's gravitational law.
¥Newton's gravitational
law states that two objects attract each other with a force that is
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the
square of their distance:
Fgrav = G M1 M2 / r122¥Newton's gravitational
law was very successful in describing the motion of the moon, the planets, and
many other objects in our universe.
¥However, Newton's
gravitational law was also clearly inconsistent with Einstein's special theory
of relativity.
¥Why ÉÉ.. since the
distance r12 depends on the
reference frame, the force also depends on the reference frame used.