Can gravity be a centripetal force?

In Newtonian mechanics, gravity provides the centripetal force causing astronomical orbits. One common example involving centripetal force is the case in which a body moves with uniform speed along a circular path.

How did Cavendish demonstrate that a gravitational force?

Cavendish demonstrated this using a torsion balance, a horizontally suspended wooden rod with a small lead sphere at each end. When the torsion balance was released and allowed to move freely, the lead balls would be attracted by the gravitational force.

Is the force of gravity the same in a vacuum?

Yes, there is gravitational force in a vacuum. Gravitational force does not depend on air.

What is the connection between centripetal force and Newton’s universal law of gravity?

Newton’s First Law of motion states that an object moving at constant speed will continue that motion unless acted on by an outside force. Centripetal means ‘center seeking’, so centripetal force is used to refer to the force experienced by an object traveling in a circle.

How do you find centripetal force of gravity?

Centripetal force is measured in Newtons and is calculated as the mass (in kg), multiplied by tangential velocity (in meters per second) squared, divided by the radius (in meters). This means that if tangential velocity doubles, the force will quadruple.

How does the gravitational force compare to the centripetal force?

Gravity is a mutual force. The force from object A on object B is as same as the force from object B on object A. The gravitational force is measured in Newton. Centripetal force is the force, which keeps the objects in a circular or any curved path.

How does the Cavendish Experiment work?

The Cavendish Experiment is a clever way to measure the Gravitational Constant that is stated in the Universal Gravitation Equation. This experiment used a torsion balance device to attract lead balls together, measuring the torque on a wire and equating it to the gravitational force between the balls.

What is the purpose of the Cavendish Experiment?

The Cavendish experiment, performed in 1797–1798 by English scientist Henry Cavendish, was the first experiment to measure the force of gravity between masses in the laboratory and the first to yield accurate values for the gravitational constant.

Does gravity acts in vacuum?

In a vacuum, gravity causes all objects to fall at the same rate. The mass of the object does not matter. If a person drops a hammer and a feather, air will make the feather fall more slowly. But if there were no air, they would fall at the same acceleration.

Is gravity stronger in a vacuum?

While gravity is most certainly a real thing, the answer to this question is not “because gravity is stronger”. The actual answer is that the vacuum of space does not exert any force on the atmosphere at all. Consider an example where we’ve pumped all of the air out of some box and created a vacuum inside of it.

How does Newton’s second law relate to centripetal force?

The direction of a centripetal force is toward the center of curvature, the same as the direction of centripetal acceleration. According to Newton’s second law of motion, net force is mass times acceleration: net F = ma. For uniform circular motion, the acceleration is the centripetal acceleration—a = ac.

Is centripetal force and centrifugal force the same?

“Centripetal force and centrifugal force are really the exact same force, just in opposite directions because they’re experienced from different frames of reference.” If you are observing a rotating system from the outside, you see an inward centripetal force acting to constrain the rotating body to a circular path.

What did the centripetal force experiment prove?

Centripetal Force Experiment. The results of the experiment confirm that the tension caused on the string of the pendulum is the centripetal force in addition to the force due to gravity. The large percent difference in the second experiment is due to an error in the experimental procedure.

How is the Cavendish apparatus built?

The Cavendish apparatus we currently use is built by PASCO. 1 The quartz fiber and smaller dumbbell are enclosed in a metal case with glass window for protection. A plan view of the spheres and dimensions are given in figure 2. A HeNe laser is used to provide the spot reflection.

What is the percent difference between tension and centripetal force?

The percentage difference for the calculated tension of the pendulum string and the actual tension is .5\% whereas the difference in the calculated centripetal force was 18\% different. The results of the experiment confirm that the tension caused on the string of the pendulum is the centripetal force in addition to the force due to gravity.

What causes large deviation in the results of the experiment?

This large deviation in the results is due to error associated in the experiment. Force of tension calculated from experiment 1 and centripetal force calculated from experiment 2 with propagation of error and percent error from the measured value.