If a stone is thrown by hand, we see it falls back to the earth. Of course using machines we can shoot an object with much greater speeds and with greater and greater initial speed, the object scales higher and higher heights. A natural query that arises in our mind is the following: can we throw an object with such high initial speeds that it does not fall back to the earth ?
Thus minimum speed required to throw object to infinity away from earth’s gravitational field is called escape velocity.
$\text{V}_{\text{e}}=\sqrt{(2\text{gr})}$
Where g is acceleration due to gravity and r is radius of earth and after solving ve 11.2 km/s. This is called the escape speed, sometimes loosely called the escape velocity. This applies equally well to an object thrown from the surface of the moon with g replaced by the acceleration due to Moon’s gravity on its surface and r replaced by the radius of the moon. Both are smaller than their values on earth and the escape speed for the moon turns out to be 2.3 km/s, about five times smaller. This is the reason that moon has no atmosphere. Gas molecules if formed on the surface of the moon having velocities larger than this will escape the gravitational pull of the moon.
Earth satellites are objects which revolve around the earth. Their motion is very similar to the motion of planets around the Sun and hence Kepler’s laws of planetary motion are equally applicable to them. In particular, their orbits around the earth are circular or elliptic. Moon is the only natural satellite of the earth with a near circular orbit with a time period of approximately 27.3 days which is also roughly equal to the rotational period of the moon about its own axis.
- Time period of moon is:
- 27.3 days
- 20 days
- 85 days
- None of these
- Escape velocity from earth is given by:
- 20 km/s
- 11.2 km/s
- 2 km/s
- None of these
- Define escape velocity. Give its formula.
- Why moon don’t Have any atmosphere?
- What is satellite? Which law governs them?
- (a) 27.3 days
- (b) 11.2 km/s
- Minimum speed required to throw object to infinity away from earth’s gravitational field is called escape velocity.
$\text{V}_{\text{e}}=\sqrt{(2\text{gr})}$
Where g is acceleration due to gravity and r is radius of earth and after solving ve 11.2 km/s. This is called the escape speed, sometimes loosely called the escape velocity.
- The escape speed for the moon turns out to be 2.3 km/s, about five times smaller than that of earth. Therefore all atmospheric gas can go easily out of atmosphere of moon. This is the reason that moon has no atmosphere.
- Earth satellites are objects which revolve around the earth. Their motion is very similar to the motion of planets around the Sun and hence Kepler’s laws of planetary motion are equally applicable to them.





