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Lite Gravity

1999
This entry explains and illustrates how the force of gravity affects motion. It shows how Newton's laws of gravity apply to various situations, from making apples fall to accelerating spacecraft on so-called "gravity-assist" trajectories. It contains simulations that show the effect of gravitation in four situations: (1) the common experience of an object falling to the ground, (2) the effect of different magnitudes of gravity , (3) orbiting around a planet where the gravity forces are pulling the object towards a center, like satellites orbiting around the earth, (4) using the gravity of a nearby planet to accelerate in interplanetary travel, like the Voyager using a planet's gravity during a flyby to slingshot farther into space. Its purpose is to help people understand this physics subject in a non-intimidating (lite) manner.