Escape velocity is the speed at which an object must travel to break free of a planet or moon’s gravitational force and enter orbit.
Calculating escape velocity is important so that you can know the enough velocity to throw it with because if not, it will eventually reach a peak and start coming back down to Earth.
Formula to calculate escape velocity.
The radius in this case, is the radius of the planet.
Example:
Calculate the escape velocity of a space ship leaving earth.
- Since we know the mass of earth is 5.972 x 10^24.
- And its radius is 6,371 Km.
- While its gravitational pull is 9.807m/s²
Therefore, the space ship’s escape velocity is 3.537 x 10^16m/s.
