Question

You are sitting next to your friend on ground. Is there any gravitational force of attraction between you two? If so, why are you not coming together naturally? Is any force other than the gravitational force of the earth coming in picture?

Answer 1

1. Yes, there exists a gravitational force between me and my friend sitting beside each other. 

2. The gravitational force between any two objects is given by, \(\vec{F} = G\frac{m_1\,m_2}{r^2}\)

Where,

G = universal gravitational constant, m₁ and m₂ = mass of the two objects, r = distance between centres of the two objects 

3. Thus, me and my friend attract each other. But due to our small masses, we exert a force on each other, which is too small as compared to the gravitational force of the earth. Hence, me and my friend don’t move towards each other. 

4. Apart from gravitational force of the earth, there is the normal force and frictional force acting on both me and my friend.