User's Guide
- Calculate the gravitational force
(FG) in newtons (N) between any two
objects by inputting the mass of the objects in
kilograms (kg) as well
as the distance between the objects in meters (m), measured from
their centers of gravity. What is the gravitational force between two
people? Two elephants? Calculate the gravitational force between the Earth
and a person on Earth. Is an astronaut really "weightless" when he or she
is traveling in a spacecraft orbiting a few hundred kilometers above the
Earth's surface? Calculate the answer to these and other weighty
questions worth pondering (pun intended)....
- The gravitational
force (FG) between two objects (a1 and a2,
respectively) causes them to accelerate toward
each other, measured in meters-per-second-per-second
(m/s2). Note that the less massive object (e.g., a person)
accelerates more than the more massive one (e.g., the Earth).
- The "Gravitational Force Calculator" uses scientific
notation to display either very large- or small numbers. For example,
the mass of the Earth is 5.976 x 1024 kg; the format of the input value for this number is as follows:
5.976e+24 where 5.976 is the coefficient and "e+24" symbolizes a power of
ten with an order
of magnitude of +24 (1024). The Earth accelerates toward a
person who weighs 68 kg on Earth (150 pounds) at the rate of ~1.11 x
10-22 m/sec2; this very small number is displayed in
the results of the "Gravitational Force Calculator" as follows:
1.1149275603507962e-22 where ~1.11 is the coefficient and "e-22"
symbolizes a power of ten with an order of
magnitude of -22 (10-22).