wlmp
May 13, 2004, 05:19 AM
At what height above the earth must an artificial satellite orbit if it is to remain at the same place relative to the earth?
himan
Aug 2, 2004, 05:16 AM
The anglular velocity of the satellite must be same as the angular velocity of the spin of the earth. Let the mass of the satellite be m and the mass of the earth be M and the angular velocity of earth be w (w = 2*pi/24 hours). The force balance eqn
mrw^2 = GMm/r^2
Solving you get r = (GM/w^2)^(1/3)