Understanding gravitational attraction

In summary, the book states that bodies experience mutual gravitational attraction with each particle of the earth. In the given picture, the vector from the apple pointing to the center of the earth represents the attractive force of the Earth attracting the apple. The vector pointing from the Earth in the upward direction represents the attractive force created by the apple attracting the earth. These forces are each drawn from the center of mass, as they are not contact forces and do not have a specific point of contact to be drawn from.
  • #1
Miike012
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The book says..bodies experience mutual gravitational
attraction with each particle of the earth...

In the picture... the vector from the apple pointing to the center of the earth.. is that the attractive force of by the Earth attracting the apple?

and what about the vector pointing from the Earth in the upward direction... is that the attractive force created by the apple attracting the earth?
 

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  • #2
Miike012 said:
The book says..bodies experience mutual gravitational
attraction with each particle of the earth...

In the picture... the vector from the apple pointing to the center of the earth.. is that the attractive force of by the Earth attracting the apple?

and what about the vector pointing from the Earth in the upward direction... is that the attractive force created by the apple attracting the earth?

Yes. And the force are each drawn from the centre of mass, since they are not contact forces, so there is not point of contact to draw the forces from/at.
 

Related to Understanding gravitational attraction

1. What is gravitational attraction?

Gravitational attraction is the force of attraction between two objects with mass. It is a fundamental force of nature that causes objects to be pulled towards each other.

2. How does gravitational attraction work?

Gravitational attraction is caused by the curvature of space-time around objects with mass. The larger the mass of an object, the stronger its gravitational pull.

3. What is the equation for calculating gravitational attraction?

The equation for calculating gravitational attraction is F = G * (m1 * m2)/r^2, where F is the force of attraction, G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance between the objects.

4. How does distance affect gravitational attraction?

The force of gravitational attraction decreases as the distance between two objects increases. This is because the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the objects.

5. What are some real-world examples of gravitational attraction?

Some real-world examples of gravitational attraction include the gravitational pull between the Earth and the Moon, the gravitational pull between the Sun and the planets in our solar system, and the gravitational pull between objects on Earth, such as a ball falling to the ground.

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