why cant a flying object just leave the atmosphere at a slower speed? why does it need to achieve ‘escape velocity’? if a rocket goes straight up at 100kmph without stopping, it should escape the atmosphere eventually right?
In: Physics
Think of gravity like a rubber band. Not taking in frivction or resistance of any kind, the rubber band will continue pulling it back correct? So the idea is to go as fast as possible t break free of the rubber band which is a constant force (gravity) pulling back on the object. Less energy/fuel is used to get away from earth by going faster. Once it’s in orbit it’s actually the inertia of the object fighting the force of gravity trying to pull it back in. Once the object slows down it will fall back to earth. If it keeps going out of gravity’s pull (massive amounts of energy) it will still be acted on in some way by other large masses
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