Painovoimaan

Painovoimaan is the Finnish term for gravitational force, the fundamental interaction that attracts all objects with mass toward each other. In classical physics it is described by Newton’s law of universal gravitation, which states that the magnitude of the force \(F\) between two point masses \(m_1\) and \(m_2\) separated by a distance \(r\) is \(F = G\,m_1 m_2 / r^2\), where \(G\) is the gravitational constant. The force acts along the line connecting the centres of mass and is proportional to the product of the masses.

In the 20th century Einstein’s general theory of relativity provided a more complete description. Painovoimaan is then understood not as a force in the classical sense, but as the curvature of spacetime produced by mass and energy. Massive bodies follow geodesics—straightest possible paths—in this curved geometry, and the apparent attraction is a manifestation of those geometrical constraints. The elegant mathematics of general relativity predicts phenomena such as gravitational time dilation, the precession of Mercury’s perihelion, and the deflection of light by gravity, all of which have been confirmed experimentally.

Modern applications of the concept include satellite navigation, where both Newtonian calculations and relativistic corrections are employed to achieve precision. Planetary science, astrophysics, and cosmology all rely on painovoimaan to model the dynamics of celestial bodies, the expansion of the universe, and the formation of large-scale structures. In engineering, the load-bearing capacity of materials and structures must account for the weight exerted by gravity. The term thus remains central to both theoretical inquiry and practical engineering across scientific disciplines.