Newton's law of gravitation gives the force between two masses and separated by a…

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Scientific Practice & Experimental Methods · Quantities, units and the practice of measurement · Quantities, units and the practice of measurement

Measurement and Method, Ch What dimensions decide before you measure anything

Problem

Newton's law of gravitation gives the force between two masses

M

and

m

separated by a distance

r

F = GMm/r^2

, where

G

is the gravitational constant. A planet's orbital period in a circular orbit of radius

r

around a body of mass

M

is quoted as

T^2 = \frac{4\pi^2 r^3}{GM}.

Check whether this equation is dimensionally homogeneous.

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