Space Review

A pendulum can be used to calculate acceleration due to gravity, g. The value obtained for g will vary due to different altitudes, the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the Earth, the Earth being flatter at the poles and varying density and distribution of the crust. To analyse projectile motion, the motion is described in terms of horizontal and vertical components The escape velocity is the velocity needed for an object to be fired off a planet so that it never returns. The escape velocity can be calculated by equating the formula for kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy. Newtons concept of escape velocity is that if you are standing on a very tall building and if you could launch a projectile fast enough then its path would match the curvature of the Earth and it would be in orbit G-force is the acceleration you are feeling as a multiple of acceleration due to gravity The Earths motion will affect the path of a rocket launched into space. During a rocket launch. Momentum is conserved, the net force is increasing and the acceleration is increasing Objects in uniform circular motions, such as satellites orbiting the Earth, have a centripetal force directed towards the centre that holds them in orbit and an instantaneous velocity that is tangential to the path The two main types of orbits are geo-stationary orbits and low Earth orbits Orbital velocity can be calculated by equating the centripetal force with the force of gravity Satellites in low Earth orbit suffer from orbital decay due to air resistance When returning to Earth from space several issues that must be taken into account are heat due to friction, large g-forces, ionization black-out and angle of re-entry. If the angle is too shallow the space craft will bounce off the atmosphere and if it is too large the g-forces will be too great Tsiolkovsky, Oberth, Goddard, Esnault-Pelterie, ONeill and von Braun contributed to the development of space exploration The sling shot effect can change the speed and direction of space probes The aether was thought to be the medium that light travelled through. It was the absolute frame of reference. The Michelson Morley experiment attempted to measure the relative velocity of the Earth through the aether. The experiment obtained a null result. No relative motion existed Newtons laws of motion are observed in inertial frames of reference. These are nonaccelerating frames The principle of relativity states that all inertial motion is relative and cannot be detected without reference to an outside point The significance of this constancy of the speed of light is that time and space must be relative. This means that time and space must change depending on your speed These days, length is defined in terms of time. Rather than a pre-decided length. If two events appear simultaneous in one frame of reference, they are not necessarily simultaneous in another frame of reference

Mass and energy are equivalent. Mass can be converted into energy and vice versa. This is given by the equation, E=mc2 At relativistic speeds, length contracts, mass increases and time slows. This has an effect on space travel Imagine that you are sitting in a train facing forwards. The train is moving at the speed of light. You hold up a mirror in front of you, at arms length. Will you be able to see your reflection in the mirror? Einstein said yes you would, but for this to happen space and time must vary for you The two main pieces of evidence for relativity are time dilation in atomic clocks at different speeds and muons produced in the atmosphere