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1 - The Gravitational Field

from Part I - Potential Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2021

Luca Ciotti
Luca Ciotti
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi, Bologna, Italy
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Summary

This chapter is aimed at introducing in an elementary yet rigorous way the mathematical properties of the Newtonian gravitational field together with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, upon which stellar dynamics is founded. We begin from the gravitational field of a point mass, and then we move to consider the field of extended mass distributions by using the superposition principle. A direct proof of Newton’s First and Second theorems for homogeneous shells is worked out, followed by a different derivation based on the Gauss theorem.

Keywords

Gravitational field of points and extended distributions
Type
Chapter
Information
Introduction to Stellar Dynamics , pp. 3 - 13
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • The Gravitational Field
  • Luca Ciotti, Università degli Studi, Bologna, Italy
  • Book: Introduction to Stellar Dynamics
  • Online publication: 28 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511736117.003
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  • The Gravitational Field
  • Luca Ciotti, Università degli Studi, Bologna, Italy
  • Book: Introduction to Stellar Dynamics
  • Online publication: 28 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511736117.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Gravitational Field
  • Luca Ciotti, Università degli Studi, Bologna, Italy
  • Book: Introduction to Stellar Dynamics
  • Online publication: 28 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511736117.003
Available formats
×