PHYSICAClass 11 Physics simulations · Gravitation
Energy of a circular orbit
Raise a satellite and split its energy into kinetic and potential parts.
What to notice
A higher orbit has more total energy but a slower speed.
Key relation
E = −GMm/2r
Try this
Raise the altitude and watch the total energy climb toward zero.
What you can change
- Altitude: 200 to 3000 km
More in Gravitation
- Falling through a tunnel in the Earth
- Escape from a planet
- Geostationary orbit
- Satellite orbit
- Gravity above and below Earth
- Kepler’s elliptical orbit
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