Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/11/e/solution
Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford 2017 11 e Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Take Jupiter's heliocentric velocity as . Conservation of energy in the Jupiter frame makes the incoming and outgoing asymptotic speeds both . For the encounter, an outgoing velocity in Jupiter's direction requires the incoming Jupiter-frame velocity to be perpendicular to it:Use a Galilean transformation back to the Sun frame:The heliocentric speeds are thereforeThe incoming direction makes an angle with Jupiter's motion; its two signs describe mirror-image encounter planes. The gravitational assist transfers orbital energy from Jupiter to the spacecraft: the spacecraft's specific kinetic energy increases by , or, using the unrounded squared incoming speed, exactly . There is no gain in asymptotic speed in the Jupiter frame; the gain is a consequence of changing frames while the planet is moving.
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