Europa is an example of a satellite which is heated by tidal forces. The orbit is constant, so how is energy conserved on Europa?
4
-
8$\begingroup$ Why do you think the orbit will be constant? $\endgroup$– Jon CusterCommented Nov 30, 2015 at 15:31
-
1$\begingroup$ Or, put slightly differently, what changes as tidal forces are applied to the body? $\endgroup$– Jon CusterCommented Nov 30, 2015 at 15:33
-
1$\begingroup$ What part of the phenomena do you expect to be violating energy conservation? The force applied to the satellite is not uniform throughout... $\endgroup$– honeste_vivereCommented Nov 30, 2015 at 15:47
-
5$\begingroup$ Closely related: physics.stackexchange.com/q/142435 . It's not the same question, but you may find that it answers your underlying question. The short version is that "The orbit is constant" isn't actually true (but then neither is the orbit of Luna around Earth). $\endgroup$– dmckee --- ex-moderator kittenCommented Nov 30, 2015 at 16:01
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
1
Eventually the title forces will cause the object in this case the moon to have a circular orbit. The closer it gets to a perfectly circular orbit the less title forces there are or at least more constant.
answered Nov 30, 2015 at 19:27
-
$\begingroup$ Which one it is, less or more constant? Circular orbits have tidal forces at least. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 22:13