Two objects have equal mass and are 1 meter away from each other. How much mass must each mass have to exert an interactive force of 1 N?

1 Answer
Apr 12, 2018

122406 kg = 135 US tons

Explanation:

Recall Newton's law of gravitation.

F_i = (Gm_1m_2)/r^2

And since m_1 = m_2, we can simply say

F_i = (Gm_1^2)/r^2

The radius is the distance between the two objects, and F_i is the desired interactive force.

1 = (Gm_1^2)/1^2

1 = Gm_1^2

Using G as the universal gravitational constant, or 6.67408 xx 10^-11 m^3kg, you should get that m_1 = 122406.4 kg

This is approximately equal to 135 american tons.

Hopefully this helps!