The discussion centers on the concept of escape velocity, specifically addressing why a planet's kinetic energy becomes zero at infinity and how kinetic energy converts to gravitational potential energy in the presence of another planet's gravitational field. Escape velocity is defined as the minimum speed needed for an object to break free from a celestial body's gravitational influence. If an object's kinetic energy remains positive, it exceeds escape velocity; if it cannot reach infinity, it is below escape velocity. The conversion of kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy is a fundamental principle of physics, illustrating the relationship between these two forms of energy.
PREREQUISITESAstronomy students, physicists, aerospace engineers, and anyone interested in the dynamics of celestial bodies and energy transformations in gravitational fields.
That is the definition of the escape velocity. If the kinetic energy is still positive then the object was faster than the escape velocity, if the object cannot reach infinity then it was slower.Rachana MN said:Why does a planet's kinetic energy become 0 when it reaches infinity?
That's how the potential energy is defined: the possibility to get converted to kinetic energy.Rachana MN said:And why does a planet's kinetic energy get converted to gravitational potential energy when subjected under another planet's gravitational field?