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yoyoz41
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Problem about "binary star system"
About half of the visible "stars" are actually binary star systems, two stars that orbit each other with no other objects nearby. Consider the motion of the center of mass of a binary star system. For a particular binary star system, telescopic observations repeated over many years show that one of the stars (whose unknown mass we'll call M1) has a circular orbit with radius R1 = 4 1011 m, while the other star (whose unknown mass we'll call M2) has a circular orbit of radius R2 = 11 1011 m about the same point.
This double star system is observed to complete one revolution in 41 years. What are the masses of the two stars? (For comparison, the distance from Sun to Earth is about 1.5 1011 m, and the mass of the Sun is about 2 1030 kg.) This method is often used to determine the masses of stars. The mass of a star largely determines many of the other properties of a star, which is why astrophysicists need a method for measuring the mass.
M1 = ?
M2 = ?
Momentum principle
p(final)= p(initial) + F*t
Energu principle
E(final)= E(initial)+W+Q
I have no clue how to solve this problem
Homework Statement
About half of the visible "stars" are actually binary star systems, two stars that orbit each other with no other objects nearby. Consider the motion of the center of mass of a binary star system. For a particular binary star system, telescopic observations repeated over many years show that one of the stars (whose unknown mass we'll call M1) has a circular orbit with radius R1 = 4 1011 m, while the other star (whose unknown mass we'll call M2) has a circular orbit of radius R2 = 11 1011 m about the same point.
This double star system is observed to complete one revolution in 41 years. What are the masses of the two stars? (For comparison, the distance from Sun to Earth is about 1.5 1011 m, and the mass of the Sun is about 2 1030 kg.) This method is often used to determine the masses of stars. The mass of a star largely determines many of the other properties of a star, which is why astrophysicists need a method for measuring the mass.
M1 = ?
M2 = ?
Homework Equations
Momentum principle
p(final)= p(initial) + F*t
Energu principle
E(final)= E(initial)+W+Q
The Attempt at a Solution
I have no clue how to solve this problem