Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/8/c/solution
Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford 2022 8 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
For the power law central potential , differentiate the effective potential:The circular orbit condition is . Thus, when , and ,The sign condition expresses attraction. At the force vanishes and there is no nontrivial circular orbit. At , attraction requires and the condition reduces to . In that exceptional case the effective potential is identically zero and every is a possible circular radius for the tuned ; there is no isolated preferred radius. A small radial velocity then gives , rather than an oscillation.
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