Object Speed at Infinite Distance from Earth: 1660 m/s

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SUMMARY

An object fired from Earth's surface at a speed of 2.00x10^4 m/s will have a final speed of 1660 m/s when it is infinitely far from Earth. This conclusion is derived from the concept of escape velocity, which for Earth is 11190.7 m/s. When an object exceeds this velocity, it will still experience gravitational effects that reduce its speed to zero at infinity. The work done by Earth on the object can be calculated using the formula ΔKE = ∑Work, where ΔKE represents the change in kinetic energy.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of escape velocity (11190.7 m/s for Earth)
  • Basic principles of kinetic and potential energy
  • Familiarity with gravitational force concepts
  • Ability to apply the work-energy theorem
NEXT STEPS
  • Calculate gravitational potential energy at varying distances from Earth
  • Explore the concept of total mechanical energy in gravitational fields
  • Learn about the work-energy theorem in physics
  • Investigate the implications of escape velocity in astrophysics
USEFUL FOR

Physics students, educators, and anyone interested in gravitational mechanics and energy conservation principles.

UrbanXrisis
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An object is fired from the Earth's surface with a speed of 2.00x10^4 m/s. What will its speed be when it is very far from the earth? (neglect friction)

so... what I did was find the excape velocity of the earth, which is 11190.7 m/s then subtract that from the initial speed.

my teacher said that when and object is fired at excape velocity, it will slow down to 0m/s when it is at an infinite distance from the earth. so if I just subtract 2.00x10^4-11190.7 then that will give me the velocity it should have, which is 8806 m/s, but my book says 1660 m/s. What did I do wrong?
 
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The Gravitational Force can slow an object with an escape velocity to 0 at "infinity". Can you find out the work done by Earth when that object reach "infinity"?
Hint:
[tex]\Delta KE = \sum{Work}[/tex]
Where
[tex]\Delta KE = -\frac{1}{2}mv^{2}_{esc}[/tex]
So when an object is at "infinity", the Earth will do that amount of work on an object.
Use [itex]\Delta KE = \sum{Work}[/itex] again to find the final velocity when that object is very far from Earth.
Viet Dao,
 
Last edited:
Making the previous hint a bit more explicit. The work done is incorporated in the potential energy. The statement made by your teacher is equivalent to saying that escape velocity is the velocity needed to give the object a total energy (kinetic plus potential) of zero. By definition the potential energy is zero at infinity. That will let you figure out the initial potential energy in your problem
 

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