Would the orit of planets be a good example of the law of conservation of energy?
Law: Energy can not be created or destroyed, but only change from one form to another.
Example: When satellites are in orbit, and the perihelion (closest point to the sun), they have the most kenetic energy. This is because the satellite must have enough intertia so its motion is not dominanted by the gravitational pull of the sun, which would pull the object in if its inertia was not great enough. As the object moves away from the perihelion and towards the aphelion (furthest point from the sun), it slows down. The kenetic energy is not lost, though. Instead, this energy is changed into potential energy. The orbital velocity of a satellite is cyclic, so therefore, the satellite has the most potential energy at the aphelion because it will increase in speed, and therefore in kenetic energy, as it gets closer to the perihelion.
Thank you for reading this. I am trying to study for a test and I wanted to see if my thoughts were correct. Any additional details I missed or is it good?
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