FACTOID # 138: Most households in Europe and North America contain fewer than three people.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

Encyclopedia > Orbital energy conservation equation

In astrodynamics vis-viva equation (also referred to as orbital energy conservation equation) is one of the fundamental and useful equations that govern the motion of orbiting bodies. It is the direct result of the law of conservation of total energy, where the sum of kinetic and potential energy is constant as the satelite moves about its orbit.

For elliptic orbits the basic form of an equation is as follows:

v^2=\mu({{2 \over{r}} - {1 \over{a}}})

where:

See also

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Energy - Engineering (2597 words)
Energy can be in several forms: mechanical potential—due to possible physical interactions with other objects (for example, gravitational potential energy); kinetic—contained in macroscopic motion; chemical—potential stored in chemical bonds between atoms; electrical—potential due to possible charge interactions; thermal—contained in the kinetic energy of individual molecules[[2]]; nuclear energy[[3]]—potential stored between constituents of atomic nucleus [[4]].
In contrast to kinetic energy, which is the energy of a system due to its motion, or the internal motion of its particles, the potential energy of a system is the energy associated with the spatial configuration of its components and their interaction with each other.
Internal energy is the kinetic energy associated with the motion of molecules, and the potential energy associated with the rotational, vibrational and electric energy of atoms within molecules.
Orbital Mechanics II (1031 words)
The kinetic energy of a satellite in a circular orbit is half its gravitational energy and is positive instead of negative.
To satisfy the minimum energy requirements of this problem the satellite should be launched from someplace on the equator where the speed of rotation (and thus the kinetic energy) is a maximum.
Assuming that energy is conserved (which it is for the most part in the vacuum of space), the total energy of the satellite would remain constant.
  More results at FactBites »

 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your location
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.