

Newton connected the dots between Kepler’s third law (about planetary motion) and the concept of gravity. He realized
Real-World Analogy: Think of gravity as an invisible string tied between a planet and a satellite, constantly pulling them together. Without this string, the satellite would fly off!
Imagine a cannon on a really tall mountain
Scenario A: The cannon fires its ball horizontally. Because Earth isn’t flat (it’s a big round ball), the cannonball doesn’t just drop straight down. It travels a bit before being pulled down by gravity. Like throwing a stone!
Scenario B: If we shoot the cannonball even faster, it'll go even further before dropping.
Scenario C: At a SUPER high speed, the cannonball will go around Earth without touching it. It's now an orbiting satellite!
Real-World Analogy: Think of swinging a ball on a string around you. The string keeps the ball from flying off. Similarly, gravity is the "invisible string" keeping satellites in orbit!
The gravitational pull (FG) acts as the centripetal force (FC) that keeps the satellite in its orbit.
They gave this relationship
FC = FG = mω2 r = GMEm/r2
But, because math is magic, some symbols cancel out, and we get
ω2 r = GME/r2
Fun Fact: Here ω is the satellite’s orbital speed, ME is Earth's mass, and m is the satellite's mass. And, G is a universal gravitational constant.
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Newton connected the dots between Kepler’s third law (about planetary motion) and the concept of gravity. He realized
Real-World Analogy: Think of gravity as an invisible string tied between a planet and a satellite, constantly pulling them together. Without this string, the satellite would fly off!
Imagine a cannon on a really tall mountain
Scenario A: The cannon fires its ball horizontally. Because Earth isn’t flat (it’s a big round ball), the cannonball doesn’t just drop straight down. It travels a bit before being pulled down by gravity. Like throwing a stone!
Scenario B: If we shoot the cannonball even faster, it'll go even further before dropping.
Scenario C: At a SUPER high speed, the cannonball will go around Earth without touching it. It's now an orbiting satellite!
Real-World Analogy: Think of swinging a ball on a string around you. The string keeps the ball from flying off. Similarly, gravity is the "invisible string" keeping satellites in orbit!
The gravitational pull (FG) acts as the centripetal force (FC) that keeps the satellite in its orbit.
They gave this relationship
FC = FG = mω2 r = GMEm/r2
But, because math is magic, some symbols cancel out, and we get
ω2 r = GME/r2
Fun Fact: Here ω is the satellite’s orbital speed, ME is Earth's mass, and m is the satellite's mass. And, G is a universal gravitational constant.
Dive deeper and gain exclusive access to premium files of Physics HL. Subscribe now and get closer to that 45 🌟
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