Circular motion/gravitational force implied

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving circular motion and gravitational forces, specifically concerning a body at a height above a planet that needs to be set into circular motion. The original poster seeks guidance on determining the impulse required to initiate this motion, expressed in terms of relevant variables such as mass and distance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to find the impulse needed for a body to move in a circular path around a planet, starting from rest. Some participants suggest using the relationship between centripetal force and gravitational force to derive the necessary velocity, while others express surprise at the simplicity of the solution.

Discussion Status

The discussion has progressed with some participants providing insights that help clarify the relationship between forces involved. There is acknowledgment of a straightforward approach to finding the velocity needed for circular motion, but no consensus on the impulse calculation itself has been reached.

Contextual Notes

The original poster's problem involves assumptions about the initial conditions and the parameters of the system, such as the height of the body and the mass of the planet, which are critical for further analysis.

fluidistic
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Homework Statement


I've thought about a problem that I invented but couldn't solve it. So I'd like a very little help, something that can push me in the good direction but not the full answer.
Suppose we have a system that is composed of a planet and a body. The body is at an height h from the center of the planet (of course h is greater than r). Initially the body is at rest. What is the impulse we have to apply on this body in order to make it move in such a way so that it describes a circular path around the planet? Give the answer in terms of m (the mass of the body), R (distance between the center of the planet and the body), M the mass of the planet and so on. With the impulse, I can then calculate the velocity it must have to accomplish this task.
Thank you!


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


I've tried a few things, but I'm at a loss.
 
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If you are looking for velocity you can easily get it if you have M (big mass) and the h

to do that make Fc=Fg and isolate v :)
 
Thanks a bunch Epsillon! I had been stuck for a few days and I just can't believe I missed such a simple answer. I thought it would have been much more complicated. I didn't realize that I could get rid of the centripetal acceleration by considering that it's equal to the velocity squared over r.
So finally I found that the velocity is worth [tex]\sqrt{\frac{GM}{r}}[/tex].
 
You got it!
 

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