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There is more than one kind of Inverse Square Law. French physicist, Charles Augstine de Coulomb (1736-1806) established the Inverse Square Laws of Electricity and Magnetism in 1785. [Electromagnetic Fields and Waves by V.V. Sarwate] However, the more controversial Inverse Square Law of Gravity is slightly convoluted. In the end it was Isaac newton, but before you blow a breaker, let me try to explain. Ismael Bouleau only assumed, without much evidence, that gravity behaves exactly like light. Robert Hooke tried to sort out what Bouleau did wrong, but in his paper to the Royal Society in London, he used Newton's 3rd law of motion, and did not have the mathematical formula to back it. Hooke was a rival scientist of Newton, who also harshly criticised Newton's work. The famous Hooke/Newton dispute has gone down in history as Hooke states Newton stole his work in his "Principia" (1686-7) for the Inverse Square Law - as it pertained to gravity in the planets orbiting around the sun. In 1679, Hooke wrote Newton that "The velocity of a planet varies as the reciprocal of its distance from the sun," which was completely wrong. Christopher Wren challenged each of them to produce the math to prove Newton's law of universal gravitation follows an inverse-square law (just as do the effects of electric, magnetic, light, sound, and radiation phenomena). Only Newton was successful and his world view still dominates physics today.

Seventeen Equations that Changed the World (2012) by Ian Stewart

Electromagnetic Fields and Waves (1993) by V. V. Sarwate

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Does sound follow the inverse square law?

Yes, sound follows the inverse square law, which states that the intensity of sound decreases in proportion to the square of the distance from the source.


Who invented the ''inverse square law''?

Isaac Newton claimed responsibility for the invention of inverse-square law however Robert Hooke was bitter about this and claimed to have composed a letter in 1679 to Isaac Newton about this principle.


If the law of gravity instead of become inverse square law than?

The details depend on what specific rule you are thinking about. The inverse-square law for gravity and electricity basically follows from the fact that we live in a three-dimensional space. In a four-dimensional space, for example, the law of gravity (as well as electrostatics) would be inverse-cube. With such a law, there could be no stable orbits, for planets, etc. (any small perturbation in a circular orbit would make the planet fall into the Sun, or make it go away without coming back).


Gravity decreases according to which law?

Gravity decreases according to the inverse square law, which states that the force of gravity between two objects decreases proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that as the distance between two objects increases, the force of gravity between them decreases rapidly.


What is the inverse square law for electric force?

The law is that the attraction between electric charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Note that the way the force varies with distance is identical to the gravitational force, which also follows an inverse-square law.

Related Questions

Who discovered inverse square law?

Charles Augustin de Coulomb is credited with the discovery of the inverse square law. It was used by Isaac Newton in his prismatic experiments.


Does sound follow the inverse square law?

Yes, sound follows the inverse square law, which states that the intensity of sound decreases in proportion to the square of the distance from the source.


What law states that the brightness of a star vaies inversely as the square of the distance from the stars?

The law is called The Inverse Square Law .


What is the significance of the inverse-square law?

Its the earth, wind and the fire


What is the inverse square law of sound?

The inverse square law 1/r2 shows the distance performance for sound intensity, an energy quantity.But your ear drums are moved by the sound pressure vibrations using the inverse distance law 1/r for field quantities.Scroll down to related links and look at "Sound pressure pand the inverse distance law 1/r".Scroll down to related links and look at "Decreasing of Sound Intensity from a Point Source - Inverse square law of sound".


What is the relationship between distance and magnetic attrations?

The inverse square law.


Who invented the ''inverse square law''?

Isaac Newton claimed responsibility for the invention of inverse-square law however Robert Hooke was bitter about this and claimed to have composed a letter in 1679 to Isaac Newton about this principle.


What does the inverse-square law tell you about the relationship between force and distance?

The inverse-square law applies to gravitational and electrical forces. An inverse-square law tells you:That the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.That means that if the distance is increased by a factor "n", the force is decreased by a factor "n2".For example, if you increase the distance by a factor of 10, the force will decrease by a factor of 102 = 10 x 10 = 100.


If the law of gravity instead of become inverse square law than?

The details depend on what specific rule you are thinking about. The inverse-square law for gravity and electricity basically follows from the fact that we live in a three-dimensional space. In a four-dimensional space, for example, the law of gravity (as well as electrostatics) would be inverse-cube. With such a law, there could be no stable orbits, for planets, etc. (any small perturbation in a circular orbit would make the planet fall into the Sun, or make it go away without coming back).


Inverse operation of a square?

Square root is the inverse operation of a square.


Does gravitational pull lessen as you travel away from planets?

Yes, it obeys the inverse square law.


What does the inverse square law state?

any physical law stating that some physical quantity or strength is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source of that physical quantity.