Gauss's law - a forgotten tool?
John Severn · Physics Education · 2000
Gauss's law is a powerful tool that can be used to resolve symmetrical situations involving various fields, where traditional approaches would involve the use of integral calculus. Born out of the dynamics of fluids, its main teaching use has traditionally been largely in the area of electrostatic problems. However, in the area of gravitation its use is not so well known. This article starts by introducing Gauss's law with electrostatics, and then uses the law in the application of some simple gravitational problems.