atlantic
- 21
- 0
Why is the gravitational force normal to the path of a satellite, planet etc. ?
Gravitational Force: Why is Normal to Path of Satellites, Planets?
- Context: Undergrad
- Thread starter atlantic
- Start date
Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
2 replies · 2K views
- 25,837
- 258
hi atlantic 
it isn't (unless the orbit is circular), it's towards whatever it's orbiting around
atlantic said:
it isn't (unless the orbit is circular), it's towards whatever it's orbiting around
Ken G
Gold Member
- 4,949
- 573
Maybe your question is, why does a force perpendicular to the motion produce a circular orbit? If so, the answer is that an object moving at constant speed in a circle has an acceleration always pointing toward the center of the circle. To see that, analyze the two components of the circular motion (x and y motion) separately, and analyxe the accelerations of the x and y motion separately, and then add the results you got for the acceleration together-- you should see that it always points toward the center.