Work done on a body either speeds it up or slows it down. Keeping this in mind, explain how much work is done by centripetal force on an orbiting satellite?
Centripetal force does no work on an orbiting satellite. This is because work is only done when a force has a component in the direction of the displacement of the object. In the case of a satellite in orbit, the centripetal force acts perpendicular to the satellite’s direction of motion (which is tangential to its … Read more