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Euler’s and Barker’s equations: A geometric derivation of the time of flight along parabolic trajectories
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2016
Extract
The parabolic orbit is rarely found in nature although the orbits of some comets have been observed to be very close to parabolic. The parabola is of interest mathematically because it represents the boundary between the open and closed orbit forms. An object moving along a parabolic path is on a oneway trip to infinity never being able to retrace the same orbit again. The velocity of such an object is the escape velocity and its total energy is zero.
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- Copyright © The Mathematical Association 2008
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