{"id":816,"date":"2019-06-17T19:26:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T19:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/louisville-wm-physics\/?post_type=chapter&p=816"},"modified":"2019-08-11T17:18:52","modified_gmt":"2019-08-11T17:18:52","slug":"why-it-matters-gravitational-fields","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/louisville-wm-physics\/chapter\/why-it-matters-gravitational-fields\/","title":{"raw":"Why It Matters: Gravitational Fields","rendered":"Why It Matters: Gravitational Fields"},"content":{"raw":"Up to now, when have referred to `g` as the gravitational acceleration.\u00a0 As anything released near the surface of the Earth drops with an acceleration of `g=9.8` m\/s2<\/sup>, this is certainly a correct characterization.\u00a0 However, `\\vec{g}` is actually telling up about a more fundamental quantity, the gravitational field.\u00a0 Like the gravitational force, the gravitational field is a vector with a magnitude and a direction.\u00a0 But unlike the gravitational force, which depends on an interaction between two masses, the gravitational field is an indication of how a single mass influences the space around it.\u00a0 We talk about the gravitational force on a mass<\/em>, but the gravitational field at a point in space<\/em>.\u00a0 How these two things relate to each other is explained by `\\vec{F}_{g} = m \\vec{g}`, which states that the gravitational force exerted on a particle sitting at a point in space is equal to the mass of the particle times the gravitational field at that point.","rendered":"

Up to now, when have referred to `g` as the gravitational acceleration.\u00a0 As anything released near the surface of the Earth drops with an acceleration of `g=9.8` m\/s2<\/sup>, this is certainly a correct characterization.\u00a0 However, `\\vec{g}` is actually telling up about a more fundamental quantity, the gravitational field.\u00a0 Like the gravitational force, the gravitational field is a vector with a magnitude and a direction.\u00a0 But unlike the gravitational force, which depends on an interaction between two masses, the gravitational field is an indication of how a single mass influences the space around it.\u00a0 We talk about the gravitational force on a mass<\/em>, but the gravitational field at a point in space<\/em>.\u00a0 How these two things relate to each other is explained by `\\vec{F}_{g} = m \\vec{g}`, which states that the gravitational force exerted on a particle sitting at a point in space is equal to the mass of the particle times the gravitational field at that point.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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