By Lawrence
5 minutes
5 minutes
Fall Around It
Drop a ball and it falls. Newton's big idea: throw it sideways fast enough, and it keeps falling, and keeps missing the ground.
Circular speed
A ball circles a planet when the pull bends its path by just the right amount. Too slow and it falls in. Too fast and it swings out wide. The right speed is √(GM/r).
From 11 units out, where a mountain top will stand:
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