1) Potential theory provides a mathematical representation of gravitational fields by formulating gravitational acceleration as a function of position determined by the gravitational potential.
2) Poisson's equation, discovered by Siméon-Denis Poisson, determines the gravitational potential and is solved using integrals over mass density.
3) Solutions to Poisson's equation are expressed as spherical harmonics which describe deviations from a spherical shape and are used to model variations in Earth's and other planetary gravitational fields.
1) Potential theory provides a mathematical representation of gravitational fields by formulating gravitational acceleration as a function of position determined by the gravitational potential.
2) Poisson's equation, discovered by Siméon-Denis Poisson, determines the gravitational potential and is solved using integrals over mass density.
3) Solutions to Poisson's equation are expressed as spherical harmonics which describe deviations from a spherical shape and are used to model variations in Earth's and other planetary gravitational fields.
1) Potential theory provides a mathematical representation of gravitational fields by formulating gravitational acceleration as a function of position determined by the gravitational potential.
2) Poisson's equation, discovered by Siméon-Denis Poisson, determines the gravitational potential and is solved using integrals over mass density.
3) Solutions to Poisson's equation are expressed as spherical harmonics which describe deviations from a spherical shape and are used to model variations in Earth's and other planetary gravitational fields.
1) Potential theory provides a mathematical representation of gravitational fields by formulating gravitational acceleration as a function of position determined by the gravitational potential.
2) Poisson's equation, discovered by Siméon-Denis Poisson, determines the gravitational potential and is solved using integrals over mass density.
3) Solutions to Poisson's equation are expressed as spherical harmonics which describe deviations from a spherical shape and are used to model variations in Earth's and other planetary gravitational fields.
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Potential theory
For irregular, nonspherical mass distributions in three dimensions,
Newton’s original vector equation (4) is inefficient, though theoretically it could be used for finding the resulting gravitational field. The main progress in classical gravitational theory after Newton was the development of potential theory, which provides the mathematical representation of gravitational fields. It allows practical as well as theoretical investigation of the gravitational variations in space and of the anomalies due to the irregularities and shape deformations of Earth.
Potential theory led to the following elegant formulation: the
gravitational acceleration g is a function of position R, g(R), which at any point in space is given from a function Φ called the gravitational potential, by means of a generalization of the operation of differentiation: in which i, j, and k stand for unit basis vectors in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. The potential and therefore g are determined by an equation discovered by the French mathematician Siméon-Denis Poisson:
where ρ(R) is the density at the
vector position R.
The significance of this approach is that Poisson’s equation can be
solved under rather general conditions, which is not the case with Newton’s equation. When the mass density ρ is nonzero, the solution is expressed as the definite integral: where the integral is a three-dimensional integral over the volume of all space. When ρ = 0 (in particular, outside Earth), Poisson’s equation reduces to the simpler equation of Laplace.
The appropriate coordinates for the region outside the nearly
spherical Earth are spherical polar coordinates: R, the distance from the centre of Earth; θ, the colatitude measured from the North Pole; and the longitude measured from Greenwich. The solutions are series of powers of R multiplied by trigonometric functions of colatitude and longitude, known as spherical harmonics; the first
terms are:
The constants J2, J3, and so forth are determined by the detailed
mass distribution of Earth; and, since Newton showed that for a spherical body all the Jn are zero, they must measure the deformation of Earth from a spherical shape. J2 measures the magnitude of Earth’s rotational equatorial bulge, J3 measures a slight pear-shaped deformation of Earth, and so on. The orbits of spacecraft around Earth, other planets, and the Moon deviate from simple Keplerian ellipses in consequence of the various spherical harmonic terms in the potential. Observations of such deviations were made for the very first artificial spacecraft. The parameters J2 and J3 for Earth have been found to be 1,082.7 × 10−6 and −2.4 × 10−6, respectively. Very many other harmonic terms have been found in that way for Earth and also for the Moon and for other planets. Halley had already pointed out in the 18th century that the motions of the moons of Jupiter are perturbed from simple ellipses by the variation of gravity around Jupiter.
The surface of the oceans, if tides and waves are ignored, is a
surface of constant potential of gravity and rotation. If the only spherical harmonic term in gravity were that corresponding to the equatorial bulge, the sea surface would be just a spheroid of revolution (a surface formed by rotating a two-dimensional curve about some axis; for example, rotating an ellipse about its major axis produces an ellipsoid). Additional terms in the potential give rise to departures of the sea surface from that simple form. The actual form may be calculated from the sum of the known harmonic terms, but it is now possible to measure the form of the sea surface itself directly by laser ranging from spacecraft. Whether found indirectly by calculation or directly by measurement, the form of the sea surface may be shown as contours of its deviation from the simple spheroid of revolution. variation in Earth's gravitational field The variation in the gravitational field, given in milliGals (mGal), over the Earth's surface gives rise to an imaginary surface known as the geoid. The geoid expresses the height of an imaginary global ocean not subject to tides, currents, or winds. Such an ocean would vary by up to 200 metres (650 feet) in height because of regional variations in gravitation. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Effects of local mass differences Spherical harmonics are the natural way of expressing the large- scale variations of potential that arise from the deep structure of Earth. However, spherical harmonics are not suitable for local variations due to more-superficial structures. Not long after Newton’s time, it was found that the gravity on top of large mountains is less than expected on the basis of their visible mass. The idea of isostasy was developed, according to which the unexpectedly low acceleration of gravity on a mountain is caused by low-density rock 30 to 100 km underground, which buoys up the mountain. Correspondingly, the unexpectedly high force of gravity on ocean surfaces is explained by dense rock 10 to 30 km beneath the ocean bottom.
Portable gravimeters, which can detect variations of one part in
109 in the gravitational force, are in wide use today for mineral and oil prospecting. Unusual underground deposits reveal their presence by producing local gravitational variations.