Path: ...!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!2.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!news.dfncis.de!not-for-mail From: Luigi Fortunati Newsgroups: sci.physics.research Subject: Newton's Gravity Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2024 14:03:32 +0100 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 27 Approved: hees@itp.uni-frankfurt.de (sci.physics.research) Message-ID: Reply-To: fortunati.luigi@gmail.com X-Trace: news.dfncis.de HRD7Kwql0eVMmzHDrWoI7AG05LhqQA9ZJMdWs9Qzt4aPlyedI6cUHxMyCY Cancel-Lock: sha1:gmWX8y3+Xa0WRIuOkXR9BfcEVA4= sha256:mhJ50N9d2cpUe0MiMsM213cdD6yGdFqLZbWDTtT0R50= Bytes: 1909 Newton's formula F=GmM/d^2 has been used to great advantage so far because it has proven to be valid and almost perfectly correct except for the small discrepancy in the perihelion calculation of Mercury's orbit, where Einstein's gravity formulas prove to be more precise. So, Newton's formula is *almost* correct but not quite. In this formula, the force is proportional to the product of the two masses (m*M). Suppose that body A has mass M=1000 and body B has mass m=1, so that the force between the two bodies is proportional to 1000 (mM=1*1000). If another unit mass 1 is added to body B, its mass doubles to m=2 and the force acting between the two bodies also doubles, because it will be proportional to 2000 (mM=2*1000). But if the other unit mass is added to body A (instead of body B) the mass of A will become equal to M=1001 (remaining almost unchanged) just as the force between the two bodies remains practically unchanged and will be proportional to 1001 (mM=1*1001). Why does the force acting between the two bodies double if we add the unit mass to body B and, substantially, does not change if we add it to the mass of body A? Luigi Fortunati