Newtonian gravity

Newtonian gravity models gravitational attraction as a force between masses, acting across absolute space and time. Its inverse-square law accurately describes many everyday and astronomical motions when relativistic effects are small.

Newton's law of universal gravitation: A law stating that two masses attract with force proportional to their product and inversely proportional to their separation squared. This equation gives Newtonian gravity its quantitative rule for attraction.
Mass: A physical property measuring inertia and, in Newtonian gravity, the strength of gravitational attraction. Newtonian theory assigns mass both resistance to acceleration and gravitational influence.
Isaac Newton: English mathematician and physicist who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation. Newton established the mathematical framework and universal force law.
General relativity: Einstein's theory describing gravity through the curvature of spacetime produced by matter and energy. It replaces gravitational force with spacetime curvature and succeeds where Newtonian predictions fail.
Gravitational field: A vector field describing the gravitational force per unit mass at each point in space. The field expresses how Newtonian gravity assigns an acceleration to locations around a mass.
Newton's laws of motion: Three principles relating forces, motion, and momentum in classical mechanics. Gravity acts as a force within this broader framework of motion.
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica: Newton's 1687 work presenting the laws of motion and universal gravitation. The Principia set out the theory and demonstrated its reach across celestial mechanics.
Special relativity: Einstein's theory relating space and time for inertial observers when gravity is neglected. Its finite speed of light conflicts with Newtonian gravity's instantaneous action at a distance.
Gravitational potential: Potential energy per unit mass in a gravitational field, defined up to an additive constant. Potential turns the force description into an energy landscape for motion.
Inertial frame of reference: A reference frame in which force-free bodies move at constant velocity in straight lines. Newtonian gravity assumes motion can be described against inertial space and time.

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