Chapter 8: Problem 29
What would become of the earth's orbit (which you may consider to be a circle) if half of the sun's mass were suddenly to disappear? Would the earth remain bound to the sun? [Hints: Consider what happens to the earth's KE and PE at the moment of the great disappearance. The virial theorem for the circular orbit (Problem 4.41) helps with this one.] Treat the sun (or what remains of it) as fixed.
Short Answer
Step by step solution
Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.