Exploriments: Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

This Exploriments app features five exciting activities designed to give an insightful introduction to Newtons Law of Gravitation. Interactively manipulate planets in free space and study the change in gravitational force, participate in the virtual recreation of Newtons famous Orbital Cannon thought experiment, help put a satellite into space, understand circular and elliptical orbits, study the factors that affect acceleration due to gravity and experimentally calculate the radius and mass of a planet.The app also helps you to understand the mathematical equation for the law of gravitation and how it can be used to calculate different attributes that influence gravitational force between any two bodies in the universe.

We have created an imaginary meter that calculates and displays the gravitational force so you don’t have to figure it out each time. We’re debuting a new format for our educational content - a Guide that is subdivided into Map, Explore and Discovery to let you feel a pioneer’s excitement. Also for the first time, you can directly post your thoughts about an activity straight to Twitter, Facebook or Google+. Share thoughts, build your community, start a revolution.

Exploriments are virtual, interactive, simulation-based experiments that use engaging and insightful explorations to facilitate conceptual learning. Visit www.exploriments.com to know more.


Activities:

Exploring Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
--- Understand the relationship of gravitational force to distance.
--- Experience the change in gravitational force by changing mass.
--- Explore the inverse square law to get further insights into Newton’s Law of Gravitation.

Firing Newton’s Orbital Cannon
--- Learn the importance of the launch velocity in achieving orbit.
--- Appreciate the scale of Newton’s thought experiment through this virtual implementation.
--- Get an introductory insight into the types of orbit.

Putting a Satellite into Orbit
--- Vary the launch velocity as well as the launch altitude to understand their roles in achieving orbit.
--- Verify the launch velocity needed for circular orbit at different launch altitudes.
--- Study the variation in velocity of a satellite in elliptical orbit.

Studying the Effect of Altitude on g
--- Vary the altitude of a satellite and observe the change in g.
--- Learn to distinguish between distance and altitude.
--- Learn to compare and contrast graphs, by studying two graphs that involve g.

Deducing the Radius and Mass of a Planet by Varying the Altitude of a Satellite
--- Learn to relate the weight of an object at various altitudes to planet radius.
--- Experimentally determine the radius of a planet.
--- Use theory to calculate the mass of a planet from the experimentally determined radius, then compare it to official values.


Additional Features:

--- Highly interactive simulation
--- A Reset button to reload the activity with diverse values to learn better through practice.
--- Imaginary meter to help visualize an invisible force.
--- Social interaction enabled - Twitter, Facebook and Google+