What would be the path of the Moon if somehow all gravitational forces on it vanished to zero?
Please help; need an original answer no Google search. Thank you in advance...
Well, if there were no forces, there would be no acceleration, so its velocity
would remain constant.
What kind of trajectory is that?
Well umm I'm not a physics master but
it depends where it is on it's orbit when gravity disappeared.
It will move off at a tangent to it's orbit, which may send it into the sun or into a swing around it, or, more likely, into outer interstellar space. If it's new path took it by a planet, that would cause a deflection also.
But odds are high that it would wind up in interstellar space, but I would have to calculate the speeds to check that. Possibly it's orbital speed is not high enough to escape from the sun forever. Possibly it may be in a comet type orbit.
But if your looking for degrees.. then I would say - the path of the moon would be 40 degrees north latitude and 70 degrees south longitude.
But again- It depends where it is on it's orbit when gravity disappeared.
But Steve might have a more accurate answer lol.
If all gravitational forces acting on the Moon vanished to zero, the Moon would essentially move in a straight line with a constant velocity, tangent to its orbital path at that particular moment. This happens because the Moon's velocity at any given point is a balance between the gravitational pull of the Earth and its own inertia.
To understand this conceptually, consider the idea of a projectile being launched horizontally. Despite the Earth's gravitational pull acting downwards, the projectile moves in a curved path due to its initial horizontal velocity. Similarly, if the gravitational forces on the Moon disappeared, it would continue moving in a straight line with its current velocity, rather than following its original curved orbit.
It is important to note that in reality, this scenario is not possible as the Moon's gravitational interaction with other celestial bodies, including the Earth, Sun, and other planets, would still affect its path even if the Earth's gravity were somehow neutralized. Additionally, this explanation assumes an absence of any other external forces acting on the Moon.