Physics 114A - Mechanics

Lecture 30 (Walker: Ch. 12.4-5)

Gravitational Energy
March 10, 2009

John G. Cramer
Professor of Physics
B451 PAB
cramer@phys.washington.edu
March 10, 2009

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Announcements
Homework Assignment 8 is due at 11:59 PM on Thursday,
March 12. Homework Assignment 9 (the last one!) is due at
11:59 PM on Monday, March 16 (after the Final). Homework up
to 24 hours late will receive 70% credit. Also, complete the
Course Survey on Tycho by March 16.
There are now 193/197 clicker registrations, so 4 people still
need to register their clickers.
Exam 3 will graded and the grades posted on Wednesday and
returned on Thursday. The grades for Part 1 (multiple choice)
are posted on Tycho. Check Tycho for your grades as they
appear. If any grades are missing (or have an underline in
place of a number), see Susan Hong (room C136 PAB)
immediately to identify your paper and get credit for your
work.
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The Physics 114A Final Exam

On Monday, March 16 at 2:30 PM we will have the Final Exam,
covering Chapters 1 through 13 of Walker. It will be a 100 point
exam similar in format to the previous ones, with 60 pts of multiple
choice questions, a 20 pt free-response question based on Tycho
homework, and 20 pts of free-response qualitative questions.
There will be some emphasis on Chapters 12 and 13 and on material
covered in Chapters 1-11 but not tested on previous exams.
If you have successfully taken Exams 1-3 and are satisfied with
your grades, the Final is optional. I plan to post Estimated Course
Grades tomorrow.
There will be assigned seating for the Final, so send me E-mail if
you have not already done so and need or want a left-handed, aisle,
table, or front row seat. I will post seat assignments on Tycho
tomorrow.
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Lecture Schedule (Part 4)

Physics 114A - Introduction to Mechanics
Lecture: Professor John G. Cramer
Textbook: Physics, Vol. 1 (UW Edition), James S. Walker
Week

10

Date

L#

2-Mar-09

27

3-Mar-09

Lecture Topic

Pages

Slides

Angular Momentum

10

25

11-5 to 11-7

28

Rotational Dynamics

26

11-8 to 11-9

5-Mar-09

R3

Review & Extension

49

6-Mar-09

E3

EXAM 3 - Chapters 9-11

9-Mar-09

29

Gravity Revisited

16

29

12-1 to 12-3

10-Mar-09

30

Gravitational Energy

10

30

12-4 to 12-5

12-Mar-09

31

Oscillations I

14

30

13-1 to 13-4

13-Mar-09

32

Oscillations II

12

32

13-5 to 13-8

16-Mar-09

FE

Final Examination, 2:30 - 4:20 PM, Monday, March 16 (Comprehensive)

March 10, 2009

Reading

HW Due

Lab

Rotational Motion,
Mom.of Inertia

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Make-up labs
HW8
HW9 are here.
We

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Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational potential
energy of an object of
mass m a distance r from
the Earths center:

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Gravitational Potential Energy

Very close to the Earths surface, the
gravitational potential increases linearly with
altitude:

Gravitational potential energy, just like

all other forms of energy, is a scalar. It
therefore has no components; just a sign.
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Gravitational Potential Energy

A plot of the
gravitational
potential energy Ug
looks like this:

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Gm1m2
Ug
r

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Energy Conservation
Total mechanical energy of an object of mass
m a distance r from the center of the Earth is:

This confirms what we already know as an

object approaches the Earth, it moves faster
and faster.
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Energy Conservation

E U K 0

An object falling into

the Earths gravity well,
(e.g., a comet), initially with
zero mechanical energy.

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Energy Conservation
Another way of visualizing the gravitational
potential well:

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Escape Speed
Escape speed: the initial upward speed
a projectile must have in order to escape
from the Earths gravity. How much speed
is required to climb out of the well?

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Example: Escape Speed

A 1000 kg rocket is fired straight away from the surface of the Earth.
What speed does it need to escape from the gravitational pull of the
Earth and never return? (Assume a non-rotating Earth.)

K 2 U 2 K1 U1

vescape

0 0 12 mv12

GM E m
RE

2GM E
11, 200 m/s 25, 000 mph
RE

This is also the speed at which (in the absence of

atmosphere) a meteor, falling from very far away, would strike
the surface of the Earth. It is called escape velocity.
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Energy Conservation
Speed of a projectile as it leaves the
Earth, for various launch speeds

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Clicker Question 1
An astronaut is transported by a series of
rockets from the surface of the Earth to the
surface of the Moon and then returned to the
surface of the Earth.
How does the energy UEM required to
transport him from Earth to Moon compare
with UME required to transport him from
Moon to Earth?
(a) UEM>UME
March 10, 2009

(b) UEM=UME

(c) UEM<UME

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Example: Crashing into the Sun

Suppose the Earth were suddenly
to halt its motion in orbiting the Sun.
The gravitational force would pull it
directly into the Sun. What would be
its speed as it crashed?

K 2 U 2 K1 U1
1
2

M E v2 2

GM E M s
GM E M s
0
( RE RS )
r1

1
1
v2 2GM s
6.13 105 m/s
RE RS r1
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Example:
The Height of a Projectile
A projectile is fired straight up from the Earths South Pole with an
initial speed vi = 8.0 km/s.
Find the maximum height it reaches, neglecting air drag.

K f U f Ki U i

0G

M Em 1 2
M m
2 mvi G E
rf
RE

vi2
1
1
1
(8000 m/s) 2

6
rf RE 2GM E (6.37 10 m) 2(6.67 1011 N m 2 /kg 2 )(5.98 10 24 kg)
7.68 108 m -1
rf 1.30 107 m
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h rf RE (1.30 107 m) (6.37 106 m) 6.7 106 m

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Satellite Orbits and Energies

FM on m

GMm
mv 2
2 mar
r
r

GM
v
=
r

U g
m

The tangential velocity v needed for a

circular orbit depends on the gravitational
potential energy Ug of the satellite at the
radius of the orbit. The needed tangential
velocity v is independent of the mass m of
the satellite (provided m<<M).
Notice that to make v larger, you need to go
deeper into the gravity well, i.e., to a lower orbit
where Ug is larger and r is smaller.
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Orbital Energetics
FM on m

mv 2 2 K

r
r
Ug
GMm
2
r
r

K 12 U g
The equation K = Ug is called The Virial Theorem. In
effect, it says that for a planet in orbit around the Sun, if you
turned its velocity by 90o, so that it pointed straight out of the
Solar System, you would have only half the kinetic energy needed
to escape the Suns gravity well.
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Example:
The Total Energy of a Satellite
Show that the total energy of a satellite in a circular orbit around the
Earth is half of its gravitational potential energy.

1 2 GM E m
mv
2
r
GM E m mv 2
GM E
2

v
2
r
r
r

E K U

GM E m
1 GM E GM E m
E m

2
r
r
2r
GM E m
U
Although derived for this particular case, this is a
r
general result, and is called the Virial Theorem. The
1
E 2U
factor of is a consequence of the inverse square law.
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Black Holes
Black holes:
If an object is sufficiently massive
and sufficiently small, the escape speed
will equal or exceed the speed of light
light itself will not be able to escape the
surface.
This is a black hole.

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Gravitational Lensing
Light will be bent by any
gravitational field; this can
be seen when we view a
distant galaxy beyond a
closer galaxy cluster.
This is called
gravitational lensing, and
many examples have been
found.

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Gravitational Lensing

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Example:
A Gravity Map of the Earth
Twin satellites launched March 2002
are making detailed measurements of the
Earths gravitational field. They are in
identical orbits, with one satellite in front
of the other by 220 km. The distance
between the satellites is continuously
monitored with micrometer accuracy using
onboard microwave telemetry equipment.
How does the distance between the
satellites change as the satellites
approach a region of increased mass?

As the satellites approach a region of increased

mass, they are pulled forward by it, but the leading
satellite experiences a greater force that the trailing
satellite. Therefore, the distance between them
increases, providing an indication of a mass
concentration.
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g for a Solid Sphere

GM
r
g outside 2 r r R
r
GM r
r
ginside 3 r r R
R
Gravitational field of a solid uniform sphere
4
3
4
3

r3

r3
M '
M M 3
3
R
R
GM '
G
r 3
GMr
GM r
r
ginside 2 r 2 M 3 r 3 r 3 r
r
r
R
R
R
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g for a Hollow Sphere

GM
r
g outside 2 r r R
r
r
ginside 0
rR
Gravitational field of a uniform spherical shell

m1 A1 r12
m m

2 so 21 22 and the forces cancel.

m2 A2 r2
r1
r2

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Tides
Usually we can treat planets, moons, and stars
as though they were point objects, but in fact
they are not.
When two large objects exert gravitational
forces on each other, the force on the near side
is larger than the force on the far side, because
the near side is closer to the other object.
This difference in gravitational force across
an object due to its size is called a tidal force.

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Tides
Tidal forces can result in orbital locking,
where the moon always has the same face
towards the planet as does Earths Moon.
If a moon gets too close to a large planet,
the tidal forces can be strong enough to tear
the moon apart. This occurs inside the Roche
limit; closer to the planet we have rings, not
moons.
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Tides

This figure illustrates a general tidal force on

the left, and the result of lunar tidal forces on
the Earth on the right.

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Tides
Which has a larger effect on the Earths ocean
tides, the Sun or the Moon?
It turns out that there are two factors that control
the tidal effect of a given celestial object:
(1) The size of the object in the sky (solid angle), and
(2) The mass density of the object.
By a celestial accident, the Sun and Moon have
almost exactly the same size in the sky (solar eclipses),
but the Moon has 3 times the mass density of the Sun.
Therefore, the Moons tidal effect on Earths oceans is
3 times that of the Sun.
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End of Lecture 30
For Thursday, read Walker, Chapter 13.1-4.
Homework Assignment 8 is due at 11:59 PM on
Thursday, March 12. Homework Assignment 9 is due
at 11:59 PM on Monday, March 16 (after the Final).
You must also complete the Course Surve7 on Tycho
by March 16. Homework up to 24 hours late will
receive 70% credit.
There are now 193/197 clicker registrations, so 4
people still need to register their clickers. Register
yours before the end of the quarter, if you have not
already done so.
March 10, 2009

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