Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force which varies directly as the product of their masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them.
If m1 and m2 are the masses of two bodies separated by a distance d, then the force of attraction F between the two bodies is given by
Where G is the gravitational constant
If m1 = m2 = 1 unit and d = 1 unit, then,
F = G
a) The value of G in the C.G.S. system is 6.67 x 10-8dyne cm2gm-2.
The force with which the Earth attracts a body towards it is called weight.
Where 'W' is the weight, 'm' is the mass of the body and 'g' is the acceleration due to gravity. Weight is a vector quantity.
