Final answer:
The universal law of gravitation, formalized by Sir Isaac Newton, describes the force between two bodies as proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Step-by-step explanation:
The idea that a force exists between two bodies that depends on the product of their masses and the square of the distance between them was formalized by Sir Isaac Newton and is known as the universal law of gravitation.
Newton's universal law of gravitation states that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This foundational concept in physics explains the attraction between objects with mass, underpinning phenomena from the falling of an apple to the orbits of planets.