Kevin Zhou — USAPhO Practice — Mechanics Problem 4 · Kevin Zhou #USAPhOM.4
Physics · mechanics
Problem
Explain why the assumption ℓ ≫ r is necessary to get an accurate result.
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Kevin Zhou Physics Olympiad Handouts
Question A3
Two stars of masses M and M are initially orbiting each other in a circular orbit, with relative
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velocity v and separation r. The first star begins slowly transferring matter to the second.