Gravitational slingshot

John J. Dykla; Robert Cacioppo; Asim Gangopadhyaya

doi:10.1119/1.1621032

Gravitational slingshot

John J. Dykla, Robert Cacioppo, Asim Gangopadhyaya

Department of Physics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The slingshot effect is an intriguing phenomenon that has been used effectively by NASA to send spacecraft to outer edges of the solar system. This phenomenon can be satisfactorily explained by Newtonian physics. However, if it is presented as a problem involving four-momentum conservation, the methods of relativistic kinematics easily lead to the conditions necessary for an accelerating as well as a retarding scenario. This problem provides an example that showcases the frequent utility of relativistic methods to analyze problems of Newtonian mechanics.

Original language	American English
Journal	Physics: Faculty Publications and Other Works
Volume	72
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1621032
State	Published - Apr 1 2004

Keywords

Partial Differentiation
Classical Mechanics
Lagrangian Formulation
Hamiltonian Formulation

Disciplines

Physics

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title = "Gravitational slingshot",

abstract = " The slingshot effect is an intriguing phenomenon that has been used effectively by NASA to send spacecraft to outer edges of the solar system. This phenomenon can be satisfactorily explained by Newtonian physics. However, if it is presented as a problem involving four-momentum conservation, the methods of relativistic kinematics easily lead to the conditions necessary for an accelerating as well as a retarding scenario. This problem provides an example that showcases the frequent utility of relativistic methods to analyze problems of Newtonian mechanics.",

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N2 - The slingshot effect is an intriguing phenomenon that has been used effectively by NASA to send spacecraft to outer edges of the solar system. This phenomenon can be satisfactorily explained by Newtonian physics. However, if it is presented as a problem involving four-momentum conservation, the methods of relativistic kinematics easily lead to the conditions necessary for an accelerating as well as a retarding scenario. This problem provides an example that showcases the frequent utility of relativistic methods to analyze problems of Newtonian mechanics.

AB - The slingshot effect is an intriguing phenomenon that has been used effectively by NASA to send spacecraft to outer edges of the solar system. This phenomenon can be satisfactorily explained by Newtonian physics. However, if it is presented as a problem involving four-momentum conservation, the methods of relativistic kinematics easily lead to the conditions necessary for an accelerating as well as a retarding scenario. This problem provides an example that showcases the frequent utility of relativistic methods to analyze problems of Newtonian mechanics.

KW - Partial Differentiation

KW - Classical Mechanics

KW - Lagrangian Formulation

KW - Hamiltonian Formulation

UR - https://ecommons.luc.edu/physics_facpubs/8

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JO - Physics: Faculty Publications and Other Works

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ER -

Gravitational slingshot

Abstract

Keywords

Disciplines

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