Here's why:
* Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation: This law states that the force of gravity between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. Mathematically:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r²
Where:
* F is the gravitational force
* G is the gravitational constant
* m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects
* r is the distance between their centers
* Halving the distance: If you halve the distance (r/2), the denominator in the equation becomes (r/2)². This simplifies to r²/4, which means the force becomes four times greater.
In summary: Decreasing the distance between two objects by half increases the gravitational force between them by a factor of four.
