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Author Topic: What's the difference between  (Read 3189 times)

infringement153

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What's the difference between
« on: June 20, 2010, 01:03:35 AM »
In a two-body system, what's the difference between making the total momentum zero, and zeroing the velocities of the two bodies?

space guy1

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Re: What's the difference between
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2010, 05:37:40 AM »
quite a lot actually,  zero total momentum means that the system barycenter will stay in the same spot in absolute space.  zeroing the velocities of the 2 bodies makes them stop orbiting around the barycenter and from then they will start moving towards each other in a straight line until they collide.  try it for a better explanation