>From Harry: >> From OrionWorks: >> What I can say is that the new system involves an alternative way of >> graphing out a periodic orbit - where you plot an "elliptical" orbit on a >> TIME-LINE chart. The orbital distance is the "Y" vertical value and the >> horizontal "X" value is the time value. > > That graph should look something like a sine curve....or not?
You're on the right track. However the time-line looks more like a bouncing ball. The "bouncing" part is where the satellite has reached the perihelion (closest distance) in the orbital period. Ironically, at this moment in time I would conjecture that it would not be incorrect to stipulate that the orbiting satellite is behaving as if it's being influenced by a NEGATIVE gravitational field. That's where the 1/r^3 (cubed) part of the algorithm comes into play. It influences the direction the satellite is taking by pushing it away. Traditionally speaking, we are used to interpreting that aspect of the orbit as the influence of centripetal action. It's all a matter of interpretation! The cubed (negative forces) influence only comes into play in close proximity to the planet for which the satellite is orbiting around. At farther distances, the normal 1/r^2 (attractive forces) take over. It's really kind of a nifty perspective, if not a little wacky! ;-) Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
