Hey guys!
Could someone please explain the Slingshot effect in relation to Newton's Laws of Motion and Universal Gravitation? I'm struggling how to formulate my response and integrate both concepts.
Thanks in advance
Hey!!
As known, we use the slingshot effect to increase the velocity and change direction of the spacecraft to conserve fuel. The spacecraft is able to gain more kinetic energy through an elastic collision with the planet. Due to the law of conservation of momentum, which states that the total momentum of the two objects before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the two objects after the collision and thus:
Through this, we are able to see that if the velocity of the spacecraft increases, it's overall momentum increases and thus momentum from the planet must decrease. The planet's velocity decreases and because the mass of the planet is extremely large, the planet's velocity decrease is only very minute.
As the slingshot effect utilises the planet's gravitational field, the stronger this gravitational field strength, the more force can be placed on the spacecraft and the more velocity it can gain. Looking at the formula:
We can see that the smaller the distance between the objects and the larger the planet affects the force between the two objects and thus utilising a larger planet can give the spacecraft higher velocities
I hope this helps! Feel free to ask more!
Hey guys, these holidays I've been studying for physics though I've been pretty worried that I'm using my time inefficiently. Since Physics is definitely more maths than content (or maybe I'm wrong) I feel like I should be practising calculations more rather than writing my syllabus notes.
What percentage or ratio do you guys recommend of how I should balance my Physics study?
80% Calculations 20% Content?
65-35?
Hey!
This is a very difficult question to answer, as it really depends on how difficult you find the math components. However,
most of the physics calculations in exams are just pulled directly out of the formula sheet and it becomes a simple substitute. Sometimes you'll need to "swap out" ie changing
F to ma. (you'll see these questions when practising, and you'll get used to it)
80% calculations, in my opinion, is way too much, some physics concepts do take a while to get down packed! If you are struggling that much on calculations where you need 80% work on it, just keep asking questions until it sinks in
For me personally, I spent around 35% on calculations and 65% on content, which slowly decreased to about 15% calculations and 85% content right before the HSC exams.
As I said, it is different for everybody, and the main thing to do is work on the stuff you struggle with, and if that's calculations, then go for it.