Newton's law of universal gravitation

{{Classical mechanics|expanded=core}}

{{Classical mechanics|expanded=core}}

'''Newton's law of universal gravitation''' describes [[gravity]] as a [[force]] by stating that every [[particle]] attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is [[Proportionality (mathematics)#Direct proportionality|proportional]] to the product of their masses and [[Proportionality (mathematics)#Inverse proportionality|inversely proportional]] to the square of the distance between their centers of mass. Separated, spherically symmetrical objects attract and are attracted [[S hell theorem|as if all their mass were concentrated at their centers]]. The publication of the law has become known as the "[[Unification (physics)#Unification of gravity on Earth with astronomical behaviors|first great unification]]", as it marked the unification of the previously described phenomena of gravity on Earth with known astronomical behaviors.{{Cite journal |last1=Freedman |first1=Daniel Z. |last2=van Nieuwenhuizen |first2=Peter |date=1978 |title=Supergravity and the Unification of the Laws of Physics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24955642 |journal=Scientific American |volume=238 |issue=2 |pages=126–143 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0278-126 |jstor=24955642 |bibcode=1978SciAm.238b.126F |issn=0036-8733}}{{cite book |first=Klaus |last=Mainzer |title=Symmetries of Nature: A Handbook for Philosophy of Nature and Science |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QekhAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |date=2 December 2013 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-088693-1 |pages=8ff }}

'''Newton's law of universal gravitation''' describes [[gravity]] as a [[force]] by stating that every [[particle]] attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is [[Proportionality (mathematics)#Direct proportionality|proportional]] to the product of their masses and [[Proportionality (mathematics)#Inverse proportionality|inversely proportional]] to the square of the distance between their centers of mass. Separated, spherically symmetrical objects attract and are attracted [[Shell theorem|as if all their mass were concentrated at their centers]]. The publication of the law has become known as the "[[Unification (physics)#Unification of gravity on Earth with astronomical behaviors|first great unification]]", as it marked the unification of the previously described phenomena of gravity on Earth with known astronomical behaviors.{{Cite journal |last1=Freedman |first1=Daniel Z. |last2=van Nieuwenhuizen |first2=Peter |date=1978 |title=Supergravity and the Unification of the Laws of Physics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24955642 |journal=Scientific American |volume=238 |issue=2 |pages=126–143 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0278-126 |jstor=24955642 |bibcode=1978SciAm.238b.126F |issn=0036-8733}}{{cite book |first=Klaus |last=Mainzer |title=Symmetries of Nature: A Handbook for Philosophy of Nature and Science |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QekhAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |date=2 December 2013 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-088693-1 |pages=8ff }}

This is a general [[physical law]] derived from [[empirical observation]]s by what [[Isaac Newton]] called ''[[inductive reasoning]]''.Isaac Newton: "In [experimental] philosophy particular propositions are inferred from the phenomena and afterwards rendered general by induction": ''[[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Principia]]'', Book 3, ''General Scholium'', at p. 392 in Volume 2 of Andrew Motte's English translation published 1729. It is a part of [[classical mechanics]] and was formulated in Newton's work ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]'' (Latin for 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy' (the ''Principia'')), first published on 5 July 1687.

This is a general [[physical law]] derived from [[empirical observation]]s by what [[Isaac Newton]] called ''[[inductive reasoning]]''.Isaac Newton: "In [experimental] philosophy particular propositions are inferred from the phenomena and afterwards rendered general by induction": ''[[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Principia]]'', Book 3, ''General Scholium'', at p. 392 in Volume 2 of Andrew Motte's English translation published 1729. It is a part of [[classical mechanics]] and was formulated in Newton's work ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]'' (Latin for 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy' (the ''Principia'')), first published on 5 July 1687.