4 ms·
Actually, the job of the rocket is to to increase the potential energy of the payload, so using a He balloon to put some distance between the rocket/payload pac
by alpine 14y ago
Actually, the job of the rocket is to to increase the potential energy of the payload, so using a He balloon to put some distance between the rocket/payload package and the ground is an entirely sensible proposition.
- stcredzero 14y agoMost of it is kinetic energy.
- alpine 14y agoMost of what is kinetic energy? Its job? A rocket that reaches escape velocity from Earth can have zero kinetic energy.
- CamperBob2 14y agoHow so?
- alpine 14y agoA rocket at infinite distance from the Earth will have infinite PE and can have zero KE.
- stcredzero 14y agoMost of what the rocket has to increase to take an object from the earth's surface to LEO. If you calculate the potential energy of a rocket in LEO and compare it to its kinetic energy, you'll find the latter is much larger. (I've already done this and posted it here.)
- lutorm 14y agoSomething with exactly escape velocity from a body always has zero total energy. That's the definition of escape velocity.