
The gravitational force acting on a particle of mass m at a distancer(<R) from the centre of Earth is
F=−Gr2M′m ....(1)
where M′ is the mass of portion of Earth enclosed by a sphere of radius r concentric with Earth. Here − sign indicates radially inward direction of force.
Taking the density of Earth to be uniform
4πr3M′=4πR3M
⇒M′=R3Mr3 ....(2)
Substituting M′ from equation 2 into equation 1:
F=−(R3GMm)r
Which is similar to the equation of motion F=−kx with k=GR3Mm=Rmg(∵g=GR2M)
For such motion, the time period is given by:
T=2πkm
Substituting k from above,
T=2πgR
Putting the values, we get
T=2×3.14106400×103=2×3.14×800≈1hour24minutes