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How Things Go Around
 (The Nature of Orbiting Bodies)

Probably the best way to understand how an object “goes into orbit” is to imagine someone throwing a stone or object toward the horizon over the surface of the earth.  In the first attempt, the stone makes an arc that is less than the radius of the earth and therefore falls back to the ground.  On each succeeding try, by throwing the stone harder with greater velocity, the path that it follows will become farther and more distant until it actually matches the curvature of the earth.  The stone will be continually falling following an arc matching earth’s curvature.  It is “forever falling” and the object is said to be “in orbit”.

 

All things in orbit are balanced by these two forces. This is how planets go around the sun ..

A typical orbiting body is our own planet Earth orbiting the Sun.  From the principles of curved motion1, a “motivating force” called the Centripetal force causes the motion, which in this case is gravity.  It is balanced by an outward tendency called the Centrifugal force.  Without Centripetal force, there would be nothing to “cause” the circular motion.  Without Centrifugal force, the planets would fall into the Sun.

 

 

All bodies in orbit can be represented by the general diagram shown below.  Gravity acts as the Centripetal force balanced by the outward tendency of the Centrifugal force given by F = mv2/r.  All things in orbit are balanced by these two forces.  This is how planets go around the sun and moons around planets.  It is also how artificial satellites maintain their perpetual motion. 

 

 

 

An interesting observation about the relation  F = mv2/r  is that you will find that to make a wider circular orbit you will have to be farther from the Sun where gravity is less, but then the greater radius will make the centrifugal force less and therefore remain in balance, and so this is very much possible.  If you want to go faster around the sun, you will most likely prefer to take a longer path (wider circular orbit), and so this is also quite possible (velocity is in the numerator and r is in the denominator to maintain a balance).  You begin to see that it is because of the nature of things that allows a favorable condition to orbit.  It’s as if we are favored to go in orbit.

The relation  F = mv2/r  is simply a special case of Newton’s Second Law  F = ma, the Dynamical Force in nature.   Because so many celestial bodies went into orbit since the creation of the universe (The Big Bang) the dynamical force F = ma  has thought to be in existence since the beginning of time.

It's as if we are favored to go in orbit.  

A complete understanding of the Dynamical Force should allow it to be included in the set of forces which comprise the Theory of Everything2 (said to be the forces of gravity, magnetism, the strong force of the atomic nucleus, and the weak force of radioactive decay). 

Cognizance of the Dynamical Force may complete the set of forces regarded in the Theory of Everything2.

  

1.   The balance of forces known as centripetal and centrifugal were reestablished by R. Lang who recently challenged the subject of Curved Motion and reinstated its theory, and considered to have completed the field of Classical Physics.

 

2.   The "Theory of Everything" is an attempt to relate all forces in the Universe, a chore mostly taken up by theoretical physicists.  The "Theory of Everything" is perhaps best known to many from a motion picture of 2014 of the same name.

 

3.    Brainstorm Notes.