- #1
semc
- 368
- 5
Negative GPE?
hmm...i came across this qn which ask whether a satellite which has twice the mass of the other will have a higher gravitational potnetial energy...so the formula for GPE will be -GMm/r right? i deduce that since the mass of satellite i greater it will posses greater GPE but i was wrong
the reason i got was the satellite with bigger mass will have a more negative GPE so its GPE is lower so i was wondering is this really the case? i thought that the magnitude of the GPE tells you how much PE the object posses in the orbit?
Thanks
hmm...i came across this qn which ask whether a satellite which has twice the mass of the other will have a higher gravitational potnetial energy...so the formula for GPE will be -GMm/r right? i deduce that since the mass of satellite i greater it will posses greater GPE but i was wrong
the reason i got was the satellite with bigger mass will have a more negative GPE so its GPE is lower so i was wondering is this really the case? i thought that the magnitude of the GPE tells you how much PE the object posses in the orbit?
Thanks