Kepler's Laws and Elliptical Orbits 
Kepler's Laws and Elliptical Orbits
by Prof. Lewin
Video Lecture 22 of 35
3 ratings
Views: 5,285
Date Added: August 2, 2008

Lecture Description

In this video lecture, Prof. Walter Lewin lectures on Kepler's Laws, Elliptical Orbits, Change of Orbits, and the famous passing of a Ham Sandwich. Kepler's three Laws summarize the motion of the planets in our solar system. Following Newton's law of universal gravitation, the conservation of angular momentum and mechanical energy allow us to calculate the semimajor axis of the elliptical orbits, the orbital period and other orbital parameters. All we have to know is one position and the associated velocity of a planet and the entire orbit follows.

Course Index

Course Description

8.01 is a first-semester freshman physics class in Newtonian Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, and Kinetic Gas Theory. In addition to the basic concepts of Newtonian Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, and Kinetic Gas Theory, a variety of interesting topics are covered in this course: Binary Stars, Neutron Stars, Black Holes, Resonance Phenomena, Musical Instruments, Stellar Collapse, Supernovae, Astronomical observations from very high flying balloons (lecture 35), and you will be allowed a peek into the intriguing Quantum World.

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