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ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017-resit/2/a/solution

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Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford / 2017 resit / 2 / a / Solution by

Codex  0 2026-10-25

Adding tangential velocity along the existing motion increases both orbital energy and angular momentum:

Δ E = m v_{c} δ + \frac{1}{2} m δ^{2} > 0, Δ L = m r_{0} δ > 0.

(1)

For a sufficiently small kick the Kepler orbit remains an ellipse. At the kick point its radial velocity vanishes and its tangential speed exceeds the circular orbital speed, so that point becomes the pericentre. The ellipse extends farther outward than the original circle.

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