Calculus (3rd Edition)

Published by W. H. Freeman
ISBN 10: 1464125260
ISBN 13: 978-1-46412-526-3

Chapter 14 - Calculus of Vector-Valued Functions - Chapter Review Exercises - Page 754: 40

Answer

First, we show that the area swept out by the radial vector at time $t$ is $A\left( t \right) = \frac{1}{2}||{{\bf{r}}_0} \times {{\bf{v}}_0}||t$ Since ${{\bf{r}}_0}$ and ${{\bf{v}}_0}$ are constant vectors, so $\frac{{dA\left( t \right)}}{{dt}}$ is constant. Hence, Kepler's Second Law continues to hold.

Work Step by Step

According to Eq. (7) of Section 13.4, the area of the triangle spanned by ${{\bf{r}}_0}$ and ${\bf{r}}\left( t \right)$ is $A\left( t \right) = \frac{1}{2}||{{\bf{r}}_0} \times {\bf{r}}\left( t \right)||$ So, $A\left( t \right) = \frac{1}{2}||{{\bf{r}}_0} \times \left( {{{\bf{r}}_0} + t{{\bf{v}}_0}} \right)|| = \frac{1}{2}||{{\bf{r}}_0} \times {{\bf{r}}_0} + t{{\bf{r}}_0} \times {{\bf{v}}_0}||$ Since ${{\bf{r}}_0} \times {{\bf{r}}_0} = 0$, therefore the area swept out by the radial vector at time $t$ is $A\left( t \right) = \frac{1}{2}||{{\bf{r}}_0} \times {{\bf{v}}_0}||t$ The rate of the area swept out by the radial vector is $\frac{{dA\left( t \right)}}{{dt}} = \frac{1}{2}||{{\bf{r}}_0} \times {{\bf{v}}_0}||$ Since ${{\bf{r}}_0}$ and ${{\bf{v}}_0}$ are constant vectors, so $\frac{{dA\left( t \right)}}{{dt}}$ is constant. Hence, Kepler's Second Law continues to hold.
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