- #1
TheTourist
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An interstellar gas cloud can be roughly described as spherical with a uniform density. Its radius is R and its total mass M.
By considering the gravitational potential energy of a thin spherical shell, show that the total potential energy of the cloud is given by:
Ok, so I believe that I need to find the gravitational force acting on this shell, which I have found to be
By considering the gravitational potential energy of a thin spherical shell, show that the total potential energy of the cloud is given by:
Egrav=-[tex]\frac{3}{5}[/tex]*[tex]\frac{GM^2}{R}[/tex]
Ok, so I believe that I need to find the gravitational force acting on this shell, which I have found to be
F=4[tex]\pi[/tex]GM(r)[tex]\rho[/tex](r)[tex]\delta[/tex]r
and I must integrate this to find energy of the shell, and then integrate over the mass to find the total energy, but I am failing to get the desired result.