HW10 gravitation: in which we solve problems pertaining to gravitation, namely, Ch.

13: P10, P13, P16,

P21, P26, P39, P45, P48, P54, P66.

chapter 13, problem 10 (||12): Two dimensions.
In Fig. 13-34, three point particles A B and C are
fixed in place in an xy-plane. Particle A has mass
m
A
, particle B has mass 2.00m
A
, and particle C has
mass 3.00m
A
. A fourth particle D, with mass
4.00m
A
, is to be placed near the other three
particles. In terms of distance d, at what (a) x-
coordinate and (b) y-coordinate should particle D
be placed so that the net gravitational force on
particle A from particles B,C, and D is zero?

The net gravitational force upon A due to B, C, and D is,

1 2.00
2
3.00/1.5
2 2
tan quad-3
2
2 2 2 2 2
( )
cos56
3.00 2.00
2.4
sin56 (1.5 )
A C A B
A AB AC AD AD
AB AC
C B A A A
AD AB AC A A
AC AB
m m m m
G y G x
r r
x
m m m m Gm
Gm x y Gm x y
y r r d d d

e
= + + = = + +
| | | | | |
= = = =
| | |

\ . \ . \ .

F F F F 0 F
F F F
(1.1)

This is the direction of
AD
F . HOWEVER, it is NOT the LOCATION of particle D! Very important concept for
work with Coulombs Law in Physics II. Basically, (1.1) tells us the angle at which this particle D must be
placed, but not the distance from the origin! We must have
2
A D
m m
AD
r
G = F , which will tell us the distance from
the origin of particle D. Then, we must have,
( )
2 2
2 2 2 2
4.00 4.00
2.4 cos56 sin56 2.4 1.29 ;
2.4
A D A A A A
AD
Gm m Gm Gm Gm m
x y r d d
r d d r
= = = = = F (1.2)

This means r

= (1.29d Z 56.3); this is the location-vector of particle-D. Resolving this into components,

(a) In (x, y) notation, the x coordinate is x = 0.716d. (b) Similarly, the y coordinate is y = 1.07d.

chapter 13, problem 13 (||16): Figure 13-37
shows a spherical hollow of diameter R inside a
lead sphere of radius R = 4.00 cm; the surface of
the hollow passes through the center of the sphere
and touches the right side of the sphere. The
mass of the sphere before hollowing was M = 2.95
kg. With what gravitational force does the
hollowed-out lead sphere attract a small sphere of
mass m = 0.431 kg that lies at a distance d = 9.00
cm from the center of the lead sphere, on the
straight line connecting the centers of the spheres
and of the hollow?

If the lead sphere were not hollowed the magnitude of the force it exerts on m would be F
1
= GMm/d
2
. Part of
this force is due to material that is removed. Superposition: We calculate the force exerted on m by a sphere that
just fills the cavity, at the position of the cavity, and subtract it from the force of the solid sphere.

Compute the mass of the hollowed-out sphere: The cavity has a radius r = R/2. The material that fills it has the
same density (mass to volume ratio) as the solid sphere, that is, M
c
/r
3
= M/R
3
, where M
c
is the mass that fills the
cavity. The common factor 4t/3 has been canceled. Thus, the mass is,

3 3 3
4 1
2 3 2 2 2
1 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 3
4
1 1 1 3
( )
;
8
R R V R M
M M M M M
V R R R
t

t
= = = = = = (1.3)

The center of the cavity is d r = d R/2 from m, so the force it exerts on m is

( )
1
8 1 2
1 2 2 2 2 2
1
1 2
2
; ;
m m
G Mm GM m GM m GMm
F F
r d r
d R
= = = =

(1.4)

The force of the hollowed sphere on m is,

( ) ( )
( )
2
2
2
2
1 2 2 2 2 2
1 1
2 2
11
9
2 2 2
4 10 m
2 9 10 m
1 1 1
= = = 1
8 8 1
(6.67 10 )(2.95 kg)(0.431 kg)
1
1 8.31 10 ;
(9.00 10 m)
8 1
R
d
m
kg
GMm
F F F GMm
d d
d R
N
N

| | | |
| |
| |

\ . \ .
| |

|
= =
|

\ .
(1.5)

chapter 13, problem 16: In Fig. 13-39, a
particle of mass m
1
= 0.67 kg is a distance d = 23
cm from one end of a uniform rod with length L =
3.0 m and mass M = 5.0 kg. What is the magnitude
of the gravitational forceF on the particle from the
rod?



Since the rod is an extended object, we cannot apply
Equation 13-1 directly to find the force. Instead, we
consider a small differential element of the rod, of
mass dm of thickness dr at a distance r from
1
m .


The gravitational force between dm and
1
m , using ( / ) dm M L dr = , is,
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
;
Gm m Gm Gm Gm M
dF d dm dr dr
r r r r L

| |
= = = =
|
\ .
,

where we have substituted / M L = since mass is uniformly distributed. The direction of dF is to the right
(see figure). The total force can be found by integrating over the entire length of the rod:
1 1 1
2
1 1
( )
L d
d
Gm M Gm M Gm M dr
F dF
L r L L d d d L d
+
| |
= = = =
|
+ +
\ .
} }
.

Substituting the values given in the problem statement, we obtain
11 3 2
10 1
(6.67 10 m /kg s )(0.67 kg)(5.0 kg)
3.0 10 N.
( ) (0.23 m)(3.0 m 0.23 m)
Gm M
F
d L d

= = =
+ +


Chapter 13, problem 21: Certain neutron stars (extremely dense stars) are believed to be rotating at about 1
rev/s. If such a star has a radius of 20 km, what must be its minimum mass so that material on its sur-face
remains in place during the rapid rotation? From Eq. 13-14, we see the extreme case is when g becomes
zero, and plugging in Eq. 13-15 leads to 0
r
g a = . Putting in symbolic expressions for g = 9.81 m/s
2
and the
radial acceleration a
r
= v
2
/R yields what we want.
3 2
2
2
0 = = .
GM R
R M
R G
e
e

Thus, with R = 20000 m and e = 2t rad/s, we find M = 4.7 10
24
kg ~ 5 10
24
kg.

Chapter 13, problem 26: Consider a pulsar, a collapsed star of extremely high density, with a mass M equal to
that of the Sun (
30
1.98 10 kg ), a radius R of only 12 km, and a rotational period T of 0.041 s. By what
percentage does the free-fall acceleration g differ from the gravitational acceleration a
g
at the equator of this
spherical star?

We are basically seeing how the stars orbital-rotation-speed, which elicits a radial acceleration
r
a opposite that
of gravity, subtracts from the natural pull of gravity.

The difference between free-fall acceleration g and the gravitational acceleration
g
a at the equator of the star is
(see Equation 13.14) due to a radial force-balance,
2
g
a g R e =
where
2 2
153rad/s
0.041s T
t t
e = = =

is the angular speed of the star. The gravitational acceleration at the equator is


11 3 2 30
11 2
2 4 2
(6.67 10 m /kg s )(1.98 10 kg)
9.17 10 m/s .
(1.2 10 m)
g
GM
a
R

= = =

Therefore, the percentage difference is

2 2 4
4
11 2
(153rad/s) (1.2 10 m)
3.06 10 0.031%.
9.17 10 m/s
g
g g
a g
R
a a
e

= = = ~

chapter 13, problem 39 (||40): (a) What is the escape speed on a spherical asteroid whose radius is 500 km
and whose gravitational acceleration at the surface is 3.0 m/s
2
? (b) How far from the surface will a particle go
if it leaves the asteroids surface with a radial speed of 1000 m/s? (c) With what speed will an object hit the
asteroid if it is dropped from 1000 km above the surface?

(a) the expression for escape velocity is for there to be zero kinetic energy at infinite distance,

2
1
2
2
2
3 3
1
( ) ( ) 0
2
2
2 2(3.0 ) (500 10 ) 1.7 10 ;
r
E E
r r r
m m
E g s
s
GMm GMm GMm
K U d F R dR dR mv
R r r
GM r
v a r m
r r

A
| |
= = - = = = = =
|
\ .
= = = =
} } }
F r r
(1.6)

(b) revisiting the above expression (1.6), but this time integrating to h, the unknown height,

3
2
2 2
2
2
2
3
5
2 1 2(3.0 )(500 10 )
(1000 )
1
1 2
500 10
2.5 10 ;
1 2 1
1
m
s
m
s
h r
h
r
E
h
r r
GM r m
g r
v r v
GMm GMm GMm GMm
K U dR mv
R h r r r
r r m
h m
a r
+

| |
= = = = =
|
+ +
\ .

= = = =


}
(1.7)

(c) this time, we write as,

2
2 3
2
1 1 1 1
2 1 1.4 10 ;
2 1
h r
g
E g g
h
r r
a r
GMm m
K U dR mv GMm m a r v a r
R r r h r h s
'+
'
| |
| |
= = = = = = =
|
|
|
' ' + + +
\ .
\ .
}
(1.8)

Chapter 13, problem 45: The Martian satellite Phobos travels in an approximately circular orbit of radius
6
9.4 10 r m = with a period of 7 h 39 min. Calculate the mass of Mars from this information.

The period T and orbit radius r are related by the law of periods: T
2
= (4t
2
/GM)r
3
, where M is the mass of Mars.
The period is 7 h 39 min, which is 2.754 10
4
s. We solve for M:
( )
2 3 2 6 3
23
2 2
11 3 2 4
4 4 (9.4 10 m)
6.5 10 kg.
(6.67 10 m / s kg) 2.754 10 s
r
M
GT
t t

= = =



Chapter 13, problem 48: The mean distance of Mars from the Sun is 1.52 times that of Earth from the Sun.
From Keplers law of periods, calculate the number of years required for Mars to make one revolution around
the Sun; compare your answer with the value given in Appendix C.

Keplers law of periods, expressed as a ratio, is

3 2 2
3
(1.52)
1y
M M M
E E
a T T
a T
| | | | | |
= =
| | |
\ . \ . \ .


where we have substituted the mean-distance (from Sun) ratio for the semi-major axis ratio. This yields T
M
=
1.87 y. The value in Appendix C (1.88 y) is quite close, and the small apparent discrepancy is not significant,
since a more precise value for the semi-major axis ratio is a
M
/a
E
= 1.523, which does lead to T
M
= 1.88 y using
Keplers law. A question can be raised regarding the use of a ratio of mean distances for the ratio of semi-major
axes, but this requires a more lengthy discussion of what is meant by a mean distance than is appropriate here.





Chapter 13, problem 54 (Hunting a black hole):
Observations of the light from a certain star
indicate that it is part of a binary (two-star) system.
This visible star has orbital speed v = 270 km/s,
orbital period T = 1.70 days, and approximate mass
m1 = 6M
s
, where M
s
is the Suns mass,
30
1.98 10 kg . Assume that the visible star and its
companion star, which is dark and unseen, are both
in circular orbits (Fig. 13-46). What multiple of M
s

gives the approximate mass m2 of the dark star?

The two stars are in circular orbits, not about each other, but about the two-star systems center of mass
(denoted as O), which lies along the line connecting the centers of the two stars. The gravitational force between
the stars provides the centripetal force necessary to keep their orbits circular. Thus, for the visible, Newtons
second law gives


2
1 2 1
2
1
Gmm mv
F
r r
= =

where r is the distance between the centers of the stars. To find the relation between r and
1
r , we locate the
center of mass relative to
1
m . Using Equation 9-1, we obtain


1 2 2 1 2
1 1
1 2 1 2 2
(0) m m r m r m m
r r r
m m m m m
+ +
= = =
+ +
.

On the other hand, since the orbital speed of
1
m is
1
2 / v r T t = , then
1
/ 2 r vT t = and the expression for r can be
rewritten as
1 2
2
2
m m vT
r
m t
+
= .
Substituting r and
1
r into the force equation, we obtain

2 3
1 2 1
2 2 2
1 2
4 2
( )
Gmm mv
F
m m v T T
t t
= =
+

or
3 3 5 3
30 2
2 11 3 2
1 2
(2.7 10 m/s) (1.70 days)(86400 s/day)
6.90 10 kg
( ) 2 2 (6.67 10 m /kg s )
3.467 ,
s
m v T
m m G
M
t t

= = =
+
=


where
30
1.99 10 kg
s
M = is the mass of the sun. With
1
6
s
m M = , we write
2 s
m M o = and solve the following
cubic equation for o :

3
2
3.467 0
(6 )
o
o
=
+
.

The equation has one real solution: 9.3 o = , which implies
2
/ 9
s
m M ~ .

Chapter 13, problem 66 (Attacking a satellite [pew, pew]): One way to attack a satellite in Earth orbit is to
launch a swarm of pellets in the same orbit as the satellite but in the opposite direction. Suppose a satellite in a
circular orbit 500 km above Earths surface collides with a pellet having mass 4.0 g. (a) What is the kinetic
energy of the pellet in the reference frame of the satellite just before the collision? (b) What is the ratio of this
kinetic energy to the kinetic energy of a 4.0 g bullet from a modern army rifle with a muzzle speed of 950 m/s?

(a) The pellets will have the same speed v but opposite direction of motion, so the relative speed between the
pellets and satellite is 2v. Replacing v with 2v in Eq. 13-38 is equivalent to multiplying it by a factor of 4. Thus,

( )( )
11 3 2 24
rel 3
5
2(6.67 10 m / kg s ) 5.98 10 kg 0.0040 kg
4
2 (6370 500) 10 m
4.6 10 J.
E
GM m
K
r

| |
= =
|
+
\ .
=


(b) We set up the ratio of kinetic energies:
( )( )
5
2 rel
2
1
bullet
2
4.6 10 J
2.6 10 .
0.0040kg 950m/s
K
K

= =