2007-10-12 10:51:58 · 3 answers · asked by kris 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Escape Velocity, is not how fast you have to travel to get to orbit or leave the planets/stars gravitational influence. Escape Velocity is how fast you must "throw" a projectile (no engines) so that "it" will never return, for Earth it is about 11 km/sec. (a space ship can escape Earth's gravitational influence at 5 mph if it goes straight up, it will take an awfully long time, however)
Orbital Energy is the sum of the objects potential energy and kinetic energy per unit mass.
2007-10-12 11:11:48 · answer #1 · answered by arinc_429 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Orbital energy is the velocity of an object in orbit around another object.
Escape velocity is how fast an object has to be travelling to be able to escape the gravitational force of another object.
2007-10-12 10:55:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. The escape velocity is the speed at which an object is traveling faster than gravity alone can stop. Orbital energy is a velocity at which gravity and centripetal force are balanced. The energy differs by mass.
2007-10-12 10:55:37 · answer #3 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋