Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-4-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/paper-1/section-b/b1/solution
Past exam of the physics course of the year 4 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2013 Paper 1 Section B B1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
In a central potential, is conserved. Substituting it into givesWhile the string stays taut, . Circular force balance gives , hence . A radial impulse changes no angular momentum. The radial oscillation of an elastic-string orbit follows by expanding the same fixed- effective potential about its minimum:soFor an outward impulse, one convenient linear approximation is and . The angular modulation follows from and is needed for a consistent trajectory sketch.
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