The gravitational force of attraction between two objects is calculated using Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, which states that this force is proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This can be expressed with the formula F = G * m1 * m2 / r^2, where:
- F is the force of attraction between the objects,
- G is the gravitational constant,
- m1 and m2 are the two masses,
- r is the distance between the centers of the two masses.
If we consider the scenario where the distance 'r' between the two masses decreases, then according to the formula for gravitational force, the force 'F' will increase. This is because 'r' is in the denominator of the equation and is squared, meaning as it gets smaller, the whole value of 'F' will get larger. Thus, as the two masses get closer and closer together, the force of attraction between them will increase.
This inverse relationship between the distance and force of attraction is an example of an inverse-square law, which applies to many physical phenomena beyond just gravitation. It's important to note that for different masses or distances, you can use the same formula, just insert your specific values for m1, m2, and r to obtain the gravitational force between the two objects.