An object is suspended ten billion meters from the center of a planet. The object is released and begins falling in a straight line toward the planet, whose gravity is the only force acting on the object.
How fast is the object moving when it is one hundred million meters from the center of the planet?
Details and Assumptions
Give your answer to 3 decimal places.
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Guilherme good solution.
No need to integrate...just use conservation of mechanical energy
G is the gravitational constant 6 . 6 7 4 ⋅ 1 0 − 1 1 m 3 k g − 1 s − 2
M is the mass of the planet 1 . 9 ⋅ 1 0 2 7 k g
L is the initial distance of the object from the center of the planet 1 0 1 0 m
m is the mass of the object
r is the distance of the object from the center of the planet at any given time
K is the kinetic energy of the object
v is the speed of the object
.
Since gravity is the only force acting on the object, the kinetic energy of the object at any position is equal to the work done on the object by gravity in moving it to that position. The gravitational force acting on the object is
F = G M m / r 2
The gravity varies greatly over the distance L, so you have to go back to the definition of work. As an object moves along a path S the work done on the object by a force F is the integral over S of the scalar product F ⋅ d x , where dx is the differential of the displacement vector.
W = ∫ S F ⋅ d x
In our case the gravity and displacement vectors point in the same direction so the scalar product is simply F dx, and dx = -dr. So we can write work as
W = − ∫ L r G M m r − 2 d r = G M m r − 1 ∣ L r = G M m ( r − 1 − L − 1 ) = K
Instead of using a dummy variable I just re-used r . I integrated from position L down to a lower position r . Now I have the kinetic energy K. I also know kinetic energy is one-half the mass times the square of the speed.
K = 2 1 m v 2 = G M m ( r − 1 − L − 1 ) , v 2 = 2 G M ( r − 1 − L − 1 )
v = 2 G M ( r − 1 − L − 1 )
When r is set equal to 1 0 8 m you get
v = 5 0 , 1 0 7 . 4 7 m / s
You dont have to integrate:) Just use the formula for the free fall: v=(2g×s)^1/2
And substitute g with G*=G×M/r^2
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Klapp what does s represent? Where does this come from?
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Well, since v = L r 2 G M × ( L − r ) you could get away with using the SUVAT formula v = 2 a s with v being the final velocity from rest after travelling distance s = L − r under constant acceleration a = L r G M , but this is kind of accidental.
Is 7 SF of accuracy reasonable, since L and r are only given to 1 SF, and G and M to 4 and 2 SF respectively?
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@Mark Hennings – Acceleration is not constant in this situation. The acceleration, g , is ten thousand times greater at r = 1 0 8 m than it is at r = 1 0 1 0 m . What you have discovered is that the average value of g over [ L , R ] is equal to L R G M . Note that this average is over the position-interval [ L , R ] and not over the corresponding time-interval. It might seem strange but mathematically they are two different averages. You still have to use calculus to find that the average is L R G M .
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@Brandon Stocks – I think you missed my use of the word artificial . You could use the SUVAT formula if you had some idea of average acceleration, but you could only know how to determine the correct average acceleration if you had done the calculus.
Bro nice solution and problem . Make the next part and ask time taken by body . That will Involve more calculus! :)
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@Prakhar Bindal – If I do I will link it to you. I have it worked out on paper. Its just the typing it all out.
@Prakhar Bindal – Prakhar alright I posted the question of time and its solution.
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d t d v = − r 2 G M
d r d v ⋅ d t d r = − r 2 G M
d r d v ⋅ v = − r 2 G M
∫ 0 v ∗ v d v = ∫ 1 0 1 0 1 0 8 − r 2 G M d r
2 v 2 ∣ ∣ 0 v ∗ = r G M ∣ ∣ 1 0 1 0 1 0 8
2 v ∗ 2 = G M ( 1 0 − 8 − 1 0 − 1 0 )
v ∗ = 2 ⋅ 6 . 6 7 4 ⋅ 1 0 − 1 1 ⋅ 1 . 9 ⋅ 1 0 2 7 ⋅ ( 1 0 − 8 − 1 0 − 1 0 )
v ∗ = 5 0 1 0 7 . 4 7