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Grade 9Mechanics

a satellite is orbiting the earth with a constant speed...............if suddenly the gravitational force b/w them becomes 0........................then what will happen to the satelite?????????

1.....it will become stationary in the orbit

2.......it will tangentially escape away.

PLS HELP>>>>>>>N EXPLAIN!!!!!!!

Profile image of Shivam Bhagat
14 Years agoGrade 9
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1 Answer

Profile image of Vishal Sahrawat
14 Years ago

It is similar to the situation of whirling a stone with a string. the moment u leave the string the stone escapes tangentially. this is because while moving in the circular orbit the satellite acquires a tangential velocity and the force of gravity is forcing it to follow the circular path . But when this force is removed the body has only tangential velocity due to which it escapes tangentially. I hope this will help u.