Geostationary satellite orbit radius as a multiple of Earth radius.

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around deriving an expression for the orbital radius of a geostationary satellite as a multiple of Earth's radius, denoted as eta R. Participants clarify that the gravitational force must be balanced with centripetal force, leading to the equation r^3 = GM/(omega)^2. It is emphasized that the mass of the Earth can be calculated using its density and radius, which prevents cancellation of terms. The key point is to recognize that the satellite's orbital radius is not linearly dependent on Earth's radius, and participants suggest substituting the orbital radius with eta R in the calculations. The conversation also touches on technical issues related to using LaTeX for mathematical expressions.
Physgeek64
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Homework Statement


Okay, so the question seems really simple so I don't know what I'm missing

A satellite orbits at a fixed point above the Earth's equator. Assuming the Earth has uniform
density, radius R, and angular frequency of rotation, omega
Find an expression for eta, such that the orbital radius of the satellite is expressed as eta R

Homework Equations


Below

The Attempt at a Solution


Centripetal force= gravitational force

mr(omega)^2=GMm/r^2
r^3=GM/(omega)^2
But I honestly have no idea how to incorporate the Eaths radius. Every time I try it cancels.

Thanks in advance :)
 
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When calculating mass of the Earth you can use density and radius of the Earth so it doesn't cancel out.
 
Guneykan Ozgul said:
When calculating mass of the Earth you can use density and radius of the Earth so it doesn't cancel out.
Absolute star! Thank you!
 
Guneykan Ozgul said:
When calculating mass of the Earth you can use density and radius of the Earth so it doesn't cancel out.
Sorry - I've just had a thought. That will give me an expression in terms of R^3, not R. This produces the same problem as I had before
 
I don't understand the problem exactly. Any function dependent on R is actually an expression in terms of R so if you obtain a term with R^3 (you should) don't worry because it means that radius of the sattelite is not dependent on R linearly .
 
There are two different radii involved: One is the radius of the Earth and the other the radius of the orbit. The volume is calculated using the Earth radius R, while the satellite orbit is a multiple of R. Replace the radius in your satellite force balance with ##\eta R##.

Can you show more details of your workings?
 
Ohh, sorry I did not see the part that asks you to write the sattalite radius as eta R. I think you should use @gneill 's argument.
 
gneill said:
There are two different radii involved: One is the radius of the Earth and the other the radius of the orbit. The volume is calculated using the Earth radius R, while the satellite orbit is a multiple of R. Replace the radius in your satellite force balance with ##\eta R##.

Can you show more details of your workings?
Ah okay - I think I've got it now. Thank you. Of course- would you like me to upload a photo of my working? (For some reason Latex doesn't work on my computer)
 
Physgeek64 said:
Ah okay - I think I've got it now. Thank you. Of course- would you like me to upload a photo of my working? (For some reason Latex doesn't work on my computer)
You can upload a photo if it's easily legible.
What machine/browser are you using?
 
  • #10
gneill said:
You can upload a photo if it's easily legible.
What machine/browser are you using?
How do I inset a photo? I can't see the button- The only one i can find is the one requiring a URL

A macbook air and safari
 
  • #11
You can UPLOAD an image file. Check out the UPLOAD button at the bottom right of the reply edit panel.

Ah. I'm not familiar with safari, so I can't help you there.
 
  • #12
gneill said:
You can UPLOAD an image file. Check out the UPLOAD button at the bottom right of the reply edit panel.

Ah. I'm not familiar with safari, so I can't help you there.

Thank you- please excuse my handwriting.

My laptop is a mystery- I've had many people try to download latex, but no one has had any luck
 

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  • #13
Your solution looks good.

PF's LaTeX does not require any extensions or software to be added to your browser or machine. It's a feature that's managed externally. It may, however, require that certain character set capabilities exist in the browser. You might try testing another browser just to see if it's a browser issue. I think there's versions of Chrome and Firefox for mac.

Edit: You might check your browser version against the supported versions at the http://mathjax.readthedocs.org/en/latest/misc/browser-compatibility.html.
 
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  • #14
Your solution looks good. To do Latex, type this
Code:
\eta  = \sqrt[3]{{\frac{{4G\rho \pi }}{{3\omega ^2 }}}}
and put tex tags around it.
 
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