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Gravity is a fundamental interaction causing attraction between masses, well-approximated by Newton’s inverse-square law (F = G·m m′/r²) for many applications.
Gravity (also called gravitation) is a fundamental physical interaction that causes objects with mass to attract one another. It is characterized by an attractive force that acts over an infinite range, becoming weaker with distance. In Newtonian form, the gravitational force between two masses m and m′ separated by distance r is F = G·(m m′)/r², where G is the gravitational constant. Gravity is one of the four fundamental interactions and is negligible for subatomic particles but dominates at astronomical scales, governing the motion of planets, stars, galaxies, and even the behavior of light in strong gravitational fields. Gravity can also be characterized by how it relates to mass and motion. A key idea is the equivalence principle: inertial mass (which appears in Newton’s second law) is the same as gravitational mass, and experiments have tested this equality to extremely high precision. For most practical purposes on Earth, Newton’s law provides an excellent approximation, but the more complete description is given by general relativity, where gravity is not treated as a conventional force—instead it is described by the curvature of spacetime produced by the distribution of mass and energy. In extreme cases, such as black holes, this curvature becomes so strong that nothing can escape past the event horizon.
Gravity is a fundamental interaction causing attraction between masses, well-approximated by Newton’s inverse-square law (F = G·m m′/r²) for many applications.
Gravity is characterized by the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass (equivalence principle), tested experimentally to very high accuracy.
General relativity characterizes gravity as spacetime curvature caused by mass-energy distribution, reducing to Newtonian behavior in weak fields on Earth.
A fundamental interaction that causes objects with mass to attract each other, with strength that decreases with the square of distance.
The proportionality constant in Newton’s law of universal gravitation that sets the strength of gravitational attraction.
A model stating that the gravitational force between two masses is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The hypothesis that inertial mass and gravitational mass are the same, implying that all bodies fall with the same acceleration in a gravitational field.
Einstein’s theory of gravitation in which gravity is described by the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.
The geometric distortion of spacetime that, in general relativity, determines the motion of objects and the effects of gravity.
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