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If gravity was the only force present would gravity, beside pulling, also stop the rotation / spin of a small object its pulling towards it over time? What would be the effect on an uneven object and what would be the effect on a perfect sphere?

Qmechanic
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2 Answers2

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I assume you are talking about two interacting bodies orbiting about one another, one of which at least is asymmetric. Gravity would stop the self rotation by tidal forces, such as cause the tides on Earth. This would convert rotational energy into heat leading ultimately to body or bodies rotating with the same frequency as the orbital motion. The timescale over which this takes place depends on the nature of the bodies - soft/hard , large/small. For example the Earth's moon is in a rotationally locked state.

my2cts
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The gravity acting on a body, spherical or not, is, by definition, equivalent to a single force applied to the center of gravity (and, therefore, mass) of that body, which means that it won't produce any torque relative to the com and, therefore, won't cause any angular acceleration.

Hence, the gravity should have no effect on the rotation of the body.

V.F.
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