3 ms·
I simplified. Some of it actually is consumed by friction (and therefore heating), too. You're correct that most is transferred. However, the angular rate of t
by jofer 7y ago
I simplified. Some of it actually is consumed by friction (and therefore heating), too. You're correct that most is transferred.
However, the angular rate of the Moon's rotation is staying the same over time (it's tidally locked at one rotation per revolution). It's not exactly speeding up. Instead it's getting further away, which increases the moment of inertia and therefore transfers momentum.
- fhars 7y agoThat‘s what “speeding up” in a 1/r potential means, you move to a higher energy orbit, which happens to be longer and slower. Classical physics can be weird, too.
- jofer 7y agoYes, absolutely, but must people will misunderstand "speeding up" as increasing rate of rotation, which is why it's useful to clarify.