Inverskvadratslag

Inverskvadratslag, also known as the inverse square law, is a physical principle stating that the intensity of a phenomenon such as light, sound, or gravity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. This means that as the distance from the source doubles, the intensity of the phenomenon decreases by a factor of four (2 squared). If the distance triples, the intensity decreases by a factor of nine (3 squared), and so on.

The inverse square law applies to phenomena that radiate outwards uniformly in all directions from a point source. Imagine a light bulb emitting light. As the light travels away from the bulb, it spreads out over an increasingly larger area. The total amount of light energy remains the same, but it is distributed over a larger surface, hence the intensity decreases with distance. The same principle applies to sound waves spreading from a speaker or the gravitational force exerted by a celestial body.

Mathematically, the inverse square law can be expressed as I ∝ 1/r², where I represents the intensity and r represents the distance from the source. This law is fundamental in many areas of physics, including optics, acoustics, and astrophysics, and is crucial for understanding how various physical quantities behave with respect to distance. For instance, it explains why stars appear dimmer the farther away they are and how the gravitational pull between objects diminishes rapidly with separation.