Openai/68de7724-adbc-8001-9a00-362fe2600e44

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User: Can you lay out the mathematical steps in a gradual way to prove gravity so that somebody who knows this very basic mat…

Can you lay out the mathematical steps in a gradual way to prove gravity so that somebody who knows this very basic maths would be able to follow the thread and whether or not they can actually understand completely the calculations, they can see the coherence in the thread?

Assistant: Absolutely — let’s do this as a step-by-step mathematical “story” showing how gravity can be inferred and then quantifi…

Absolutely — let’s do this as a step-by-step mathematical “story” showing how gravity can be inferred and then quantified. The idea is that even if someone doesn’t know calculus, they’ll still see how each step naturally leads to the next.

1️⃣ Step 1: Things fall at the same rate (Galileo’s insight)

• Drop a ball and a heavier ball from the same height.
• They hit the ground at the same time (ignoring air).

This shows that gravity accelerates objects equally.

We write:

a=constant (on Earth)a = \text{constant (on Earth)}a=constant (on Earth) Where aaa = acceleration due to gravity.

On Earth, a≈9.8 m/s2a ≈ 9.8\ \text{m/s}^2a≈9.8 m/s2. This is not a proof, but an observation.

2️⃣ Step 2: Falling faster = increasing speed (basic algebra)

Acceleration means:

Change in speed per unit time=a\text{Change in speed per unit time} = aChange in speed per unit time=a If you start from rest:

v=a tv = a \, tv=at Where:

• vvv = velocity (m/s)
• ttt = time (s)

Distance travelled under constant acceleration:

s=12at2s = \frac{1}{2} a t^2s=21​at2 This is just adding up how much speed you gain over time — a triangle area in a velocity-time graph.

3️⃣ Step 3: Gravity acts at a distance (Newton’s apple)

Planets go around the Sun without touching it. The Moon goes around the Earth. So, some invisible “force” acts at a distance.

Newton guessed:

Force of gravity∝mass of each body\text{Force of gravity} \propto \text{mass of each body}Force of gravity∝mass of each body and

Force of gravity∝1distance2\text{Force of gravity} \propto \frac{1}{\text{distance}^2}Force of gravity∝distance21​ Why 1/r21/r^21/r2? Because light, sound, and other effects spread out over a sphere; the area of a sphere grows as r2r^2r2. So the “strength” per unit area falls as 1/r21/r^21/r2.

Combine these two ideas:

F=Gm1m2r2F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}F=Gr2m1​m2​​ Where GGG = gravitational constant.

This is Newton’s law of gravitation.

4️⃣ Step 4: Connection with circular motion (basic geometry)

A planet orbiting a star moves in a circle (approximately). An object moving in a circle of radius rrr at speed vvv needs a “centripetal” acceleration:

a=v2ra = \frac{v^2}{r}a=rv2​ Newton said: “The gravitational force provides exactly this centripetal force.”

So:

Gm1m2r2=m2v2r\frac{G m_1 m_2}{r^2} = m_2 \frac{v^2}{r}r2Gm1​m2​​=m2​rv2​ Cancel m2m_2m2​ (the orbiting body’s mass):

Gm1r2=v2r\frac{G m_1}{r^2} = \frac{v^2}{r}r2Gm1​​=rv2​ Multiply by rrr:

Gm1r=v2\frac{G m_1}{r} = v^2rGm1​​=v2 This links speed of orbit vvv to mass of central object m1m_1m1​ and radius rrr.

5️⃣ Step 5: Predictable orbits (Kepler’s laws become math)

We can also write v=2πr/Tv = 2\pi r / Tv=2πr/T where TTT = orbital period.

Substitute:

Gm1r=(2πrT)2\frac{G m_1}{r} = \left(\frac{2 \pi r}{T}\right)^2rGm1​​=(T2πr​)2 Simplify:

T2=4π2Gm1r3T^2 = \frac{4\pi^2}{G m_1} r^3T2=Gm1​4π2​r3 This is Kepler’s Third Law explained mathematically by Newton’s gravity.

Now, with observed TTT and rrr, you can compute m1m_1m1​. Astronomers do this to weigh stars, planets, even black holes.

6️⃣ Step 6: Test it on Earth (the Moon & falling apples)

If you take the Moon’s orbit, plug in its rrr and TTT, you get:

aMoon=v2r=GMEarthr2a_{\text{Moon}} = \frac{v^2}{r} = \frac{G M_{\text{Earth}}}{r^2}aMoon​=rv2​=r2GMEarth​​ And this aMoona_{\text{Moon}}aMoon​ is exactly what you’d expect if Earth’s gravity reaches that far but is weaker by 1/r21/r^21/r2.

Newton famously did this calculation and found it matched.

This was the first quantitative proof that the same force making apples fall also keeps the Moon in orbit.

7️⃣ Step 7: Measure

𝐺 G directly (Cavendish experiment)

Newton couldn’t measure GGG (too small). In 1798, Cavendish used two lead spheres and a torsion balance to measure the tiny force between them. This gave:

G=6.674×10−11 N\cdotpm2/kg2G = 6.674 \times 10^{-11}\ \text{N·m}^2/\text{kg}^2G=6.674×10−11 N\cdotpm2/kg2 Now the law is fully quantified.

8️⃣ Step 8: Cross-check predictions

• Predict the weight of objects at different heights (matches observations).
• Predict orbital decay of satellites (matches observations).
• Predict tides (matches observations).

Every test matches within experimental error.

9️⃣ Step 9: The thread

Each link in the chain is:

1. Observe falling acceleration (Galileo).
2. Generalize to a force acting at a distance (Newton).
3. Write down a formula with 1/r21/r^21/r2.
4. Apply to orbits to predict speeds and periods.
5. Measure GGG to fully quantify it.
6. Test predictions.

Even if you don’t follow all the algebra, you can see it’s one continuous logical arc.

Would you like me to lay it out visually as a single flow chart (arrows from observation → formula → prediction → test)? That makes it even easier for someone to “see the thread” without getting bogged down in the equations.