Circular Motion and Gravitation

Newtons Law of Gravitation states: where the constant of proportionality is the Universal Gravitational Constant, . Question 1: Calculate the force of gravitational attraction which the Earth has on the moon.

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Note: the force of gravity which the Earth acts on the moon is equal and opposite to the force of gravity which the moon acts on the Earth. (Newtons Third Law) When a moon orbits a planet (assuming circular motion), this force of gravity on the moon is equal to the centripetal force needed to provide the circular orbit.

Lets consider the motion of a piece of space rock moving in close proximity to a certain planet. Specifically for circular motion,

where is the orbital speed of the space rock around the planet, which has a mass orbital radius.

, and

is the

What happens if the space rock travels at a velocity different from

Question 2: How fast must a rock be thrown horizontally for it to orbit the surface of the earth, if Earth has a radius of ? Method 1: Use the formula for orbital speed. ( )( )

Method 2: When the rock is in orbit with Earth,

so ( )( )

Time to go around the Earth ( )

Geosynchronous Satellites A geosynchronous satellite orbits around the Earth so that it is directly over the same position at any moment.

{ Question 3:

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a) How high above the Earths surface is the orbit of a geosynchronous satellite? b) What is its orbital speed? Solution a) The gravitational force is the net force ( ) accelerating the satellite:

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This is the total radius of orbit, measured from the centre of the earth. To find the distance satellite to the Earths surface, subtract the planets radius from the orbital radius:

from the

b) Take the orbital radius and plug it into one of the above formulas for velocity: ( ( ) ) ( )

Manmade Gravity in a Space Station

where is the normal force which the wall exerts on the person in the space station (see picture below)

Question 4: A space station with a diameter of rotates so that the people within experience an artificial gravity where the gravitational field is equal to that on the surface of the Earth. a) How long does it take a person to rotate once around in this space-station? (ie. What is its period of rotation?) b) What is the period if people feel half of their actual weight? Solution a) Given the apparent weight, where ( ) ( ) on the surface of Earth,

b) Now the apparent weight will be

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Circular Motion on an Inclined Plane (before continuing, you may want to review Bernoullis Principle, which can be found on the last two pages of http://www.scribd.com/doc/137077992/Fluids-Notes) Banking Problems

I.

An airplane banks at an angle to circle with a radius of . If the plane is moving at and keeps a constant elevation, calculate a) the angle, . b) the lift force, Solution a) ( b) ) ( ) ( ( ( )( ) ) )

From the vector diagram in a), ( )( )

II.

A car rounds a banked curve which has a radius of . The coefficient of friction between the tires and the road is . Given that the mass of the car is and the banked angle is , calculate how quickly the car is moving if a) there is zero friction along the slope (this would be the design speed). b) the friction down the slope is one-tenth of the cars weight. c) the car is at the point of slipping up the slope. ( ) Solution a) Compare these two situations

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when the car moves with a constant speed. ( ) ( ) ( )

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b) Since the friction force acts towards the centre, the car experiences a greater centripetal acceleration, and it will go faster than the design speed calculated in a). ( ) ( [( ) ) ] ( ) ( )

c) When the car is at the point of slipping up the slope, the friction force is at its maximum: ( ( ( ) ( ( ) ) ( ) )

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, is the maximum velocity which the car can have and still move in circular motion.

Sidenote: We can also solve these types of problems by considering the parallel and perpendicular components of each force. Just remember to include the components of as well.

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In SOME cases, this method may be easier than considering the x and y components of each force. Use at your own discretion. Keplers Laws (AP) Kepler came up with 3 laws describing planetary motion. These laws were derived solely from the circulation of the paths of planets; they were independent of any of the laws stated by Newton. Keplers First Law: Planets move in an elliptical motion around the sun.

Focus 1 Focus 2

Keplers Second Law: Conservation of Angular Momentum (p. 223, 228 230) In linear momentum, , where the inertia and is the linear velocity. is

In rotational (angular) motion, angular momentum, , where is the rotational inertia (p. 223) and is the rotational (angular) velocity in rad/s. Note: is also known as Moment of Inertia.

Keplers Third Law:

Proof ( )