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Energy transformation, also known as energy conversion, is the process of changing energy from one form to another. [1] In physics , energy is a quantity that provides the capacity to perform work (e.g. lifting an object) or provides heat .
An elliptical orbit is depicted in the top-right quadrant of this diagram, where the gravitational potential well of the central mass shows potential energy, and the kinetic energy of the orbital speed is shown in red. The height of the kinetic energy decreases as the orbiting body's speed decreases and distance increases according to Kepler's ...
The diagram shows a Hohmann transfer orbit to bring a spacecraft from a lower circular orbit into a higher one. It is an elliptic orbit that is tangential both to the lower circular orbit the spacecraft is to leave (cyan, labeled 1 on diagram) and the higher circular orbit that it is to reach (red, labeled 3 on diagram).
In orbital mechanics, a transfer orbit is an intermediate elliptical orbit that is used to move a spacecraft in an orbital maneuver from one circular, or largely circular, orbit to another. There are several types of transfer orbits, which vary in their energy efficiency and speed of transfer. These include:
This energy gained by the object comes from its orbital energy and/or rotational energy, so over time in a two-body system, the initial elliptical orbit decays into a circular orbit (tidal circularization) and the rotational periods of the two bodies adjust towards matching the orbital period (tidal locking). Sustained tidal heating occurs when ...
The specific orbital energy associated with this orbit is −29.6 MJ/kg: the potential energy is −59.2 MJ/kg, and the kinetic energy 29.6 MJ/kg. Compared with the potential energy at the surface, which is −62.6 MJ/kg., the extra potential energy is 3.4 MJ/kg, and the total extra energy is 33.0 MJ/kg.
A low energy transfer, or low energy trajectory, is a route in space which allows spacecraft to change orbits using very little fuel. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] These routes work in the Earth - Moon system and also in other systems, such as traveling between the satellites of Jupiter .
and are the semimajor axes of the two elliptical transfer orbits, which are given by = +, and = +. Starting from the initial circular orbit with radius r 1 {\displaystyle r_{1}} (dark blue circle in the figure to the right), a prograde burn (mark 1 in the figure) puts the spacecraft on the first elliptical transfer orbit (aqua half-ellipse).