Lectures on Physics has been derived from Benjamin Crowell's Light and Matter series of free introductory textbooks on physics. See the editorial for more information....

Gravitational field of the earth

Question: What is the magnitude of the earth's gravitational field, in terms of its mass, M, and the distance r from its center?

Solution: Substituting |F| = GMmt / r2 into the definition of the gravitational field, we find |g| = GM / r2




Last Update: 2009-06-21