What causes a satellite's orbit to decay?

Close satellites are descending as the high atmosphere causes conversion of
orbital energy to atmospheric kinetic energy.

The moon is ascending due to conversion of tidal energy to orbital energy.

Is not the Earth-Moon system ascending from solar orbit also? for similar
reasons? And how about the billions of tons of mass per second the sun is
losing? - Less mass means less gravity, which means expanding orbits, right?


Halloween Survey
http://members.aol.com/RichClark7/rev/hallowen.htm

What exactly is tidal energy anyway... the kinetic
energy associated with the mass displacement
of a volume of water?

Wouldn't it be equivalent to an equal decrease
in potential energy?

How is this energy transformed by the
moon into increased orbital energy?

Thanks!

"OG" wrote in message
...


The moon is ascending due to conversion of tidal energy to orbital energy.

What exactly is tidal energy anyway... the kinetic
energy associated with the mass displacement
of a volume of water?

Wouldn't it be equivalent to an equal decrease
in potential energy?

How is this energy transformed by the
moon into increased orbital energy?

Thanks!

"OG" wrote in message
...


The moon is ascending due to conversion of tidal energy to orbital energy.

All objects in motion have to create and drag along their waves. All
objects moving through space have to push aside space dust,and space
gases. All of the universe's objects create inertia,and that takes
energy. The loss of motion of objects,ties into their loss of kinetic
energy (one way or another) Bert

All objects in motion have to create and drag along their waves. All
objects moving through space have to push aside space dust,and space
gases. All of the universe's objects create inertia,and that takes
energy. The loss of motion of objects,ties into their loss of kinetic
energy (one way or another) Bert

Chris Wood wrote:

What exactly is tidal energy anyway... the kinetic
energy associated with the mass displacement
of a volume of water?

The effects of "tidal" interactions between the earth and the moon
are most obviously seen in the behaviour of the oceans -- hence the
name -- but the concept is much more general. While for most purposes
a pair of masses orbiting each other in space can be treated as
geometrical points, when they're close together their size makes a
difference, the nearer parts of each attracting the other's more
strongly than the farther parts. This allows the transfer of
rotational kinetic energy from one body to the other.

Wouldn't it be equivalent to an equal decrease
in potential energy?

How is this energy transformed by the
moon into increased orbital energy?


Picture a peculiar carousel in which not only the outer ring (with
the horses) rotates but also the central platform, much faster than
the outer one. Imagine that as you sit on a horse the drive is
disconnected so that both platforms are 'freewheeling' and, like a
cyclist whose brakes are inadequate, you put your foot down on the
inner platform. The resulting drag will cause the outer platform to
speed up (assuming you're not unseated) and the inner to slow down. A
little energy will be lost to friction in the process, heating your
sole and the surface of the platform; analogous effects in the
earth-moon interaction include not only friction between the oceans
and their basins, but also flexion of the crust from the bobbing up
and down of the continents as the moon passes over them.

--
Odysseus

Chris Wood wrote:

What exactly is tidal energy anyway... the kinetic
energy associated with the mass displacement
of a volume of water?

The effects of "tidal" interactions between the earth and the moon
are most obviously seen in the behaviour of the oceans -- hence the
name -- but the concept is much more general. While for most purposes
a pair of masses orbiting each other in space can be treated as
geometrical points, when they're close together their size makes a
difference, the nearer parts of each attracting the other's more
strongly than the farther parts. This allows the transfer of
rotational kinetic energy from one body to the other.

Wouldn't it be equivalent to an equal decrease
in potential energy?

How is this energy transformed by the
moon into increased orbital energy?


Picture a peculiar carousel in which not only the outer ring (with
the horses) rotates but also the central platform, much faster than
the outer one. Imagine that as you sit on a horse the drive is
disconnected so that both platforms are 'freewheeling' and, like a
cyclist whose brakes are inadequate, you put your foot down on the
inner platform. The resulting drag will cause the outer platform to
speed up (assuming you're not unseated) and the inner to slow down. A
little energy will be lost to friction in the process, heating your
sole and the surface of the platform; analogous effects in the
earth-moon interaction include not only friction between the oceans
and their basins, but also flexion of the crust from the bobbing up
and down of the continents as the moon passes over them.

--
Odysseus

And some enery is lost to friction (heat is generated).

On 25 Oct 2003 18:45:59 GMT, Barry Schwarz wrote:

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:33:52 -0400, "Chris Wood"
wrote:

What exactly is tidal energy anyway... the kinetic
energy associated with the mass displacement
of a volume of water?

Wouldn't it be equivalent to an equal decrease
in potential energy?

How is this energy transformed by the
moon into increased orbital energy?

Thanks!

"OG" wrote in message
...


The moon is ascending due to conversion of tidal energy to orbital energy.


Perhaps a better phrase would have been conservation of the Earth/moon
system's angular momentum. The tidal interaction between the moon and
the Earth causes the Earth's rotation to slow slightly. This
reduction in the Earth's angular momentum is conserved by a
corresponding increase in the moon's angular momentum, which is
accomplished by a slight increase in the orbital "radius."


Remove the del for email

---
Gregory Phillips Seattle, Washington, USA

And some enery is lost to friction (heat is generated).

On 25 Oct 2003 18:45:59 GMT, Barry Schwarz wrote:

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 12:33:52 -0400, "Chris Wood"
wrote:

What exactly is tidal energy anyway... the kinetic
energy associated with the mass displacement
of a volume of water?

Wouldn't it be equivalent to an equal decrease
in potential energy?

How is this energy transformed by the
moon into increased orbital energy?

Thanks!

"OG" wrote in message
...


The moon is ascending due to conversion of tidal energy to orbital energy.


Perhaps a better phrase would have been conservation of the Earth/moon
system's angular momentum. The tidal interaction between the moon and
the Earth causes the Earth's rotation to slow slightly. This
reduction in the Earth's angular momentum is conserved by a
corresponding increase in the moon's angular momentum, which is
accomplished by a slight increase in the orbital "radius."


Remove the del for email

---
Gregory Phillips Seattle, Washington, USA