JEE Main 2016 Physics question
An astronaut of mass is working on a satellite orbiting the earth at a distance from the earth's surface. The radius of the earth is , while its mass is . The gravitational pull on the astronaut is
Answer: (3)
Solution
Newton's law of gravitation gives the force exactly, with the separation measured from the *centre* of the earth: the astronaut is at a distance from it, so
= ,
option (3). The feeling of weightlessness is not an absence of gravity — it is the consequence of the astronaut
See the full step-by-step solution
Create a free account to read the complete working (3 steps), and practise questions like this in a timed test.
Create a free account