Abstract
The Universe is composed of a mixture of matter and energy. As far as we know at present, just four basic types of force give our Universe its structure and properties. Three of the four — the strong nuclear, the weak nuclear and the electromagnetic/electrostatic — are mainly concerned with the small-scale structure of matter. These forces are strong but operate over very small ranges. The other force is gravitation. In terms of magnitude, gravitation is by far the weakest of these natural forces and yet, because of its range of influence, it has shaped our Universe, on the large scale, into its present form.
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© 1997 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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North, G. (1997). Gravitation. In: Astronomy Explained. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0901-3_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0901-3_5
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-76136-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-0901-3
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