That's a very odd statement. First, "centre of rotation" implies circular orbits, whereas in general each will follow an elliptical orbit, the common mass centre being at a focus of each. Secondly, if circular, I do not understand how the centres might not coincide.Clara Chung said:
I think the author is referring to angular momentum rather than moments of forces, but I could be wrong.Clara Chung said:
haruspex said:
Clara Chung said:
Ok, I see. The book is using "moment" to refer to the first moment of mass, i.e product of mass and displacement from axis. When the chosen axis is the common mass centre, the sum of the first moments of mass is zero.Clara Chung said:
Gravitational force in a binary star system is the force of attraction between the two stars due to their masses and distance from each other. It is responsible for keeping the stars in orbit around each other.
The gravitational force between two stars in a binary system is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that the closer the stars are to each other, the stronger the gravitational force between them.
The orbital period of a binary star system is determined by the masses of the two stars and the distance between them. The larger the masses and the smaller the distance, the shorter the orbital period will be.
Yes, in some cases, the gravitational force between two stars can cause one star to pull matter from the other. This is known as mass transfer and can result in changes to the orbits and characteristics of the stars.
Binary star systems provide a unique opportunity to study the effects of gravitational force on celestial objects. By analyzing the orbital characteristics of binary stars, scientists can gain a better understanding of the laws of gravity and how it influences the movements and interactions of objects in space.