Question

Give formula for the gravitational force due to a collection of masses and represent it diagrammatically.

Answer 1

For a collection of point masses, the force on any one of them is the vector sum of the gravitational forces exerted by all the other point masses.

For n particles, force on i^th mass

where, \(\overrightarrow{F}_{ij}\) is the force on i^th particle due to j^th particle.