Weight Gain
Classical Mechanics
Level
2
Ann, Ben, and Chris are discussing what would happen to the motion of the earth around the sun if the earth's mass suddenly doubled with its velocity retained.
- Ann says, "The radius of the orbit would increase because the gravitational pull of the sun won't be able to keep the heavier earth at the same distance."
- Ben says, "The radius of the orbit would decrease because the gravitational pull between the earth and the sun is stronger."
- Chris says, "The radius of the orbit should remain the same because the gravitational pull of the sun will increase in proportion to the doubled mass of the earth."
Who is correct?
Ann
Ben
Chris
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1 solution
Doubling the mass of the earth is equivalent to adding additional earth in the earth orbit with initial velocity equal to the earth orbiting velocity and this will not effect the orbital path of the original earth .