Object Speed at Infinite Distance from Earth: 1660 m/s

AI Thread Summary
An object fired from Earth's surface at 2.00x10^4 m/s will not maintain that speed at infinite distance due to gravitational effects. The escape velocity from Earth is approximately 11190.7 m/s, and if an object reaches this speed, it can theoretically slow to 0 m/s at infinity. The discrepancy in calculated speed arises from the need to consider the work done by Earth's gravity, which affects the object's total energy. The correct approach involves using the change in kinetic energy to determine the final velocity at a great distance, leading to a final speed of 1660 m/s. Understanding the relationship between kinetic energy, potential energy, and escape velocity is crucial for solving such problems.
UrbanXrisis
Messages
1,192
Reaction score
1
An object is fired from the Earth's surface with a speed of 2.00x10^4 m/s. What will its speed be when it is very far from the earth? (neglect friction)

so... what I did was find the excape velocity of the earth, which is 11190.7 m/s then subtract that from the initial speed.

my teacher said that when and object is fired at excape velocity, it will slow down to 0m/s when it is at an infinite distance from the earth. so if I just subtract 2.00x10^4-11190.7 then that will give me the velocity it should have, which is 8806 m/s, but my book says 1660 m/s. What did I do wrong?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The Gravitational Force can slow an object with an escape velocity to 0 at "infinity". Can you find out the work done by Earth when that object reach "infinity"?
Hint:
\Delta KE = \sum{Work}
Where
\Delta KE = -\frac{1}{2}mv^{2}_{esc}
So when an object is at "infinity", the Earth will do that amount of work on an object.
Use \Delta KE = \sum{Work} again to find the final velocity when that object is very far from Earth.
Viet Dao,
 
Last edited:
Making the previous hint a bit more explicit. The work done is incorporated in the potential energy. The statement made by your teacher is equivalent to saying that escape velocity is the velocity needed to give the object a total energy (kinetic plus potential) of zero. By definition the potential energy is zero at infinity. That will let you figure out the initial potential energy in your problem
 
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'
Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
Back
Top