A ball is dropped from a satellite revolving around the earth at a hei...
The orbital speed of satellite is independent of mass of satellite, so the ball will behave as a satellite and will continue to move with the same speed in the original orbit.
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A ball is dropped from a satellite revolving around the earth at a hei...
Explanation:
When the ball is dropped from the satellite, it is subject to the gravitational force of the Earth. This force will cause the ball to accelerate towards the Earth.
Newton's First Law of Motion: An object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force.
Since there is no external force acting on the ball other than gravity, it will continue to move with the same speed along the original orbit of the satellite.
Centripetal Force: The satellite is revolving around the Earth in a circular orbit. In order to maintain this circular motion, there must be a centripetal force acting towards the center of the orbit. This force is provided by the gravitational force between the satellite and the Earth.
Gravitational Force: The gravitational force between two objects is given by the equation F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where F is the gravitational force, G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance between the centers of the objects.
As the ball falls towards the Earth, the distance between the ball and the center of the Earth decreases. This means that the gravitational force between the ball and the Earth increases.
Conservation of Angular Momentum: The angular momentum of the satellite-ball system is conserved. Angular momentum is given by the equation L = m * v * r, where L is the angular momentum, m is the mass of the object, v is the velocity of the object, and r is the distance between the object and the axis of rotation.
As the ball falls towards the Earth, the radius of the orbit decreases. In order to conserve angular momentum, the velocity of the ball must increase. This means that the ball will continue to move with the same speed along the original orbit of the satellite.
Therefore, option B is the correct answer. The ball will continue to move with the same speed along the original orbit of the satellite.