Gravitational force at the center of a bent rod – Rankers Physics
Topic: Gravitation
Subtopic: Newton's Law of Gravitation

Gravitational force at the center of a bent rod

A thin rod of length \(L\) is bent to form a circle. Its mass is \(M\). What force will act on the mass \(m\) placed at the centre of the circle ?
\(\frac{4 \pi^2 GMm}{L^2}\)
\(\frac{GMm}{4 \pi^2 L^2}\)
\(\frac{2 \pi GMm}{L^2}\)
zero

Solution:

Due to symmetry, the gravitational forces exerted by all symmetric parts of the ring at the center cancel each other out, resulting in a net force of zero.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *