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Line 3: − Astronauts in the [[space shuttle]] appear to be weightless because they are in a container which is falling. The reason the space shuttle doesn't fall to earth is that it is moving very fast sideways at the same time as it is falling, so it falls in a curve. Its speed makes its curved path the same as the Earth’s curve, so it never comes down but stays in orbit, in free fall.+ + + + +
Removed the incorrect and confusing paragraph about astronaughts and falling, and added the actual mathmatical equasion as well as the universal gravitational constant
Everything in the universe that has mass attracts every other thing that has mass. How much depends on the size of the masses and the distance between them. For normal objects, this pull is minute, but you can measure the pull between a very large object like the [[Earth]] and another object like you by standing on the scales. Your weight is the measure of the pull of gravity between you and the planet you are standing on. This force depends on your mass and the mass of that planet, but it also depends on your distance from the center of the planet. The further you are from the planet's center, the weaker the pull between it and your body. If you double your distance, the force is one quarter. At ten times the distance, the force is one hundredth. It drops off with the square of the distance. This is called the [[Inverse Square Law.]] <ref>http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/isq.html</ref>The force never becomes zero, no matter how far you travel.
Everything in the universe that has mass attracts every other thing that has mass. How much depends on the size of the masses and the distance between them. For normal objects, this pull is minute, but you can measure the pull between a very large object like the [[Earth]] and another object like you by standing on the scales. Your weight is the measure of the pull of gravity between you and the planet you are standing on. This force depends on your mass and the mass of that planet, but it also depends on your distance from the center of the planet. The further you are from the planet's center, the weaker the pull between it and your body. If you double your distance, the force is one quarter. At ten times the distance, the force is one hundredth. It drops off with the square of the distance. This is called the [[Inverse Square Law.]] <ref>http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/isq.html</ref>The force never becomes zero, no matter how far you travel.
The law itself is stated as
:<math>F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}</math>
Where the force due to gravity equals the mass of the first object, ''m''<sub>1</sub>, is multiplied by the mass of the second object, ''m''<sub>2</sub>, which is then divided by the distace between the center of mass of both objects, r, squared. This is then multipled by the [[gravitational constant]]: 6.67428 N m<sup>2</sup> Kg <sup>-2</sup>
Gravitation is responsible for making objects accelerate towards each other as well as for the formation of the [[Earth]] and [[Sun]], the [[stars]] and the [[planets]].
Gravitation is responsible for making objects accelerate towards each other as well as for the formation of the [[Earth]] and [[Sun]], the [[stars]] and the [[planets]].