A satellite of the earth is revolving in a circular orbit with a uniform speed v. If the gravitational force suddenly disappears, the satellite will [AIIMS 1982, AIEEE 2002]

JEE Main Physics question

A satellite of the earth is revolving in a circular orbit with a uniform speed . If the gravitational force suddenly disappears, the satellite will [AIIMS 1982, AIEEE 2002]

(A)Continue to move with velocity along the original orbit
(B)Move with velocity , tangentially to the original orbitCorrect
(C)Fall down with increasing velocity
(D)Ultimately come to rest somewhere on the original orbit

Answer: (B)

Solution

By Newton's first law, if the only force providing the centripetal acceleration vanishes, the satellite continues in a straight line

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Question ID VK-154542