Chapter 13: Q67P (page 354)
What are (a) the speed and (b) the period of asatellite in an approximately circular orbit above the surface of Earth? Suppose the satellite loses mechanical energy at the average rate of per orbital revolution. Adopting the reasonable approximation that the satellite鈥檚 orbit becomes a 鈥渃ircle of slowly diminishing radius,鈥 determine the satellite鈥檚
(c) altitude,(d) speed, and(e) period at the end of its 1500th revolution.
(f) What is the magnitude of the average retarding force on the satellite? Is angular momentum around Earth鈥檚 center conserved for (g) the satellite and(h) the satellite鈥揈arth system (assuming that system is isolated)?
Short Answer
- The speed of the satellite is
- The period of the satellite is
- The altitude of the satellite after the 1500th orbit is
- The speed of satellites at end of the 1500th revolution is
- The period at the end
- The magnitude of average retarding force is
- The angular momentum of the satellitearound the earth鈥檚 centeris notconserved.
- The angular momentum of the Satellite-earth is nearly conserved.