UPSB v4
Serious Discussion / Plasketts binary system
-
Date: Fri, Jan 4 2013 00:49:54
Need help on this problem.. "Plasketts binary system consists of two stars that revolve in a circular orbit about a center of mass midway between them. This statement implies that the masses of the two stars are equal. Assume the orbital speed of each star is 220 km/s and the orbital period of each is 14.4 days. Find the mass M of each star. /\ (star) (center mass) (star) \/ (both rotating into the page if that helps) @strat ik you're good at physics so if you can plz help especially ty ^^ :vcool:
-
Date: Fri, Jan 4 2013 01:16:09
@strat1227
-
Date: Fri, Jan 4 2013 01:23:15
I can solve this. Do you want a video? [SPOILER="Text solution"] r=? C = V * T (the circumference of the circular path that the stars draw is equal to the way the sun travels in one orbital period. pi = C/D (definition of pi) => D = C/pi r = D/2 (the radius is half the diameter) G*m*T^2 = 4 (pi)^2 (r)^3 [kepler's third law] => m = (4* pi^2 * r^3)/(G * T^2) m/2 = mass of one star the rest is just putting the values and tiping in the calculator [/SPOILER]