Physics

Warilla High School

Physics Research Task:

Uniform Circular Motion

Nathan Robinson

Physics Teacher: Mr Koglin

Uses:​ ​As of August 1st, 2020 there are exactly 560 geostationary satellites orbiting Earth. Geostationary satellites are
an equatorial Earth orbiting artificial satellite that are placed 35792 km from the Earth's surface. They are a specific type
of geosynchronous orbit in which their orbital period matches the rotational period of the Earth (23hrs 56mins
4seconds) giving it very unique qualities to support the functioning of Earth.
Geostationary satellites are used for all scales of Geostationary satellites are used for telecommunication
national weather forecasting.​It’s able to develop a applications (broadcasting and data systems):
movie reel sequence of the Earth. This can be seen based Advantages;​ - ​+​Much larger ground coverage established
on the current US, GOES-16 still effective as of today. +​Ground antennas can be directed at the satellites
Advantages;​ - ​+​Data is gathered over a much larger without having to track the motion of its orbit - making
global view, ​+​Photographic data of Earth can be targeted the process easier yet more efficient and effective
to one specific location,​+​ Imagery is collected every 30 +​They offer 3x more types of imagery with 4x greater
mins ​+​Predicts severe storms, maritime forecasts, resolution
seasonal changes and drought outlooks,​+​ Data that's Disadvantages;​ - ​+​Signals transmitted through
virtually impossible to track from Earth’s surface, now geostationary satellites create an inherent latency
comprehensible. provided by the geostationary satellite.
By predicting natural disasters they are able to evacuate This causes disruption in broadcasting signals as it applies
and border locations before the event occurs to save lives a lag to the systems functioning, therefore LEO satellites
and save potential economic disasters. are used

Given the plethora of advantages above I believe that weather forecasting and telecommunication services are
an extremely valuable use, as they provide essential data on potential life threatening
environmental impacts and create ease and efficiency within system processes.
Geostationary Scientific Principles
The centripetal force applied to the satellite which holds it in orbit
is provided by the gravitational attraction from the centre of
body, In this scenario Fg is the only (ignoring any friction) force
that keeps the satellite in motion; ​Therefore since Fc = Fg
And Fg = GM1m2/r²
Fc = GM1m2/r²
And as, a𝚌 = Fc/m then centripetal acceleration also = GM1/r²
This means that we can think of the satellite as being in freefall towards the centre of the
Earth; and the tangential velocity must be just fast enough for the satellite to remain the
same distance from the central body as it falls towards it.
We know that the rotation of the Earth is ​23hr (T) & (r) relation through r = ³√86164² x ​6.67408 × 10​-11​ x
56min 4sec, therefore the (T) ​ period of the Velocity eq: 5.972 × 10^24/​4∏²
satellite's orbit must be identical. Thus due to the √GM1/r = 2∏r/T r = 42163280.29 m
relation between (T) and (r) we can determine the GM1/r = 4∏²r²/T² = ans x 10 ^-3 (translates into Km)
altitude at which it must be to stay in the same GM1 = 4∏²r³/T² = 35792.28 km altitude from
location relative to Earth’s surface. Due to Earth r³/T² = GM1/4∏² Earth’s surface
not being completely flat this will differ in location r = ³√T²GM1/4∏²
relative to where you are on Earth
Therefore now knowing exact altitude tangential velocity can be expressed with V = √GM1/r =
√​6.67408 × 10​-11​ x ​5.972 × 10^24 / ​42163280.29 meaning that the tangential velocity of the orbit must
be 3074.6 m/s. - (This discussion does not deal with complexities of geostats)
Note:/ All calculations and explanations have not included other external factors such as eccentricities,
other planet's gravitational forces, friction, sun and radiation pressures, gravitational attraction of a non
spherical body, spacecraft material and maintenance structure etc. That all must be accounted for on
the spacecraft, all due to a 1 page limit, however please be aware that these principles and evaluations
go much deeper and far more complex than just this basis.
Sources Evaluation and Analysis:
Part B

Year 12 physics book, Hardcopy:

Butler, M., 2019. ​Year 12 Physics.​ Vivienne Joannou, pp.Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.

The ‘Year 12 Physics’ Textbook was written by Mark Butler, with special recognition to the cooperation
and assistance of; project editor: Mark Dixon, Edited by: Karen Enkelaar, Answer checked by: Adam
sloan, and published by Vivienne Joannou from Pascal Press, who assures that the textbook has been
thoroughly revised throughout the preparation of the text to deliver and uphold the expectations
permitted by NSW education standards and government regulations.

This textbook was written for the purposes of HSC course educational study and research, or in events of
possible criticism and speculation or even wanting to simply review information on a Yr 12 basis of
Physics. The authors, editors and publishers were all paid for the assembly of this textbook and
therefore gained much more reasonable attention to this job.
The textbook was written for the NSW education system in the year of 2019 as part of a brand new
edition to follow the newly remodeled HSC physics course.
<​https://policies.education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/associated-documents/code-of-conduct-procedur
es.pdf​>
Attached is a link to the NSW government education system code of conduct, that discusses the
regulations of being an employee for the department of education and more specifically for the year 12
physics textbook shares the standards of expectations that their department will deliver, this is shared
in, Chapter 5; 5.1 acts: (i) - (v) and act (ix).

The ‘Year 12 Physics textbook’ is a part of the government domain and acts as an (.edu) domain,
however it is a published book and not a website, this was chosen as an extensive source of research to
further understand geostationary orbiting motions and its scientific principles from more reliable
sources rather than the usual googled websites.

The validity and appropriateness of this textbook is based on the factors and quality expectations
provided by the development of this textbook, as listed above. Although the textbook does not uncover
all complexities of the geostationary satellites dynamics, I believe that all information is 100% accurate
relative to the HSC physics module, and shares the utmost reliable and valid information possible.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01644934/document

Gazzino, C., 2017. ​Dynamics Of Geostationary Satellites​. [RESEARCH REPORT] Hal.archives-ouvertes.fr.

Available at: <https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01644934/document> [Accessed 27 November 2020].

This research report was written by a French National Cement Gazzino, who holds a Ph.D in Navigation
and Telecommunication engineering, the report was published and written on the 22nd of November
2017.

It was written as part of a scientific research project concerning the centre of space studies. The
scientific research and report written by Clement was under the act of an organization known as LAAS
(​The Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems); which is one of the largest research
laboratories of the French national centre for scientific research. Thus the reasoning for this report being
dedicated to the sole scientific purposes contributing to this laboratory and Clement’s personal
reputation as an engineer in his field.
The report was published through the HAL archive which is a multi disciplinary open access archive that
is for the deposit of scholarly documents of all fields, in specifics; scientific research documents.
Therefore this archive holds its own registered domain allowing any users to document their reports
online. The domain is (.Fr) a very commonly trusted domain registration in France and other european
countries.

Through thorough developed research further into the authorship of this report and further background
checks, I believe that this resource is extremely accurate as it is acknowledged by highly respected
organizations and is written by a well respected and entrusted authorship.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsCatalog/page2.php

Przyborski, P., 2020. ​Catalog Of Earth Satellite Orbits​. [ONLINE] Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Available at:
<https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsCatalog/page2.php> [Accessed 27 November 2020].

This NASA published catalog was authored by Paul Przyborski and revised by NASA official: Robert Levy
as a part of the NASA Earth observatory. Paul is the Lead applications developer at NASA and works
closely with the NASA scientists to present factual articles on the web, to push open sourced data and
development to improve access to that of NASA data and resources.

This catalog was written and published in 2020, for the access of the general public to research and gain
an understanding into the different classes of orbital and satellite motion. Paul is a paid web master of
NASA and it is literally his job to deliver these content focused resources to the web basing off of NASA
data and scientific information.
This catalog is a trusted government domain (.gov).

<​https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PR_2200_002D_&page_name=Chapter5&s
earch_term=publishing%20NASA%20articles​ >
The attachment above shares documentation to the requirements that apply when NASA employees
prepare papers for or participate in scientific and technical symposia and shares the criteria for the
payment of page charges for Government-sponsored research results when published in professional
journals and articles are also given.

Based on the criteria, trusted authorship, and reputable domain, it is known that the article is
fact-checked and respectively follow NASA procedural requirements as attached in the above analysis.
Therefore I believe that this article source is extremely accurate and shares undeniable reliability and
validity.
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/satellites-ocean.html

Sweet, W., 2020. ​How Are Satellites Used To Observe The Ocean?.​ [ONLINE] Oceanservice.noaa.gov.
Available at: <https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/satellites-ocean.html> [Accessed 2 December 2020].

This article was released by the National Ocean Service; ‘​How Are Satellites Used To Observe The
Ocean?’​, was written by William. V. Sweet as the lead author, along with fellow partner Donald Scavia
and as listed “the organization” who reviewed the documentation before it was published in mid 2020.
The article was written in 2020; It was released through the National Ocean Services page and therefore
is under protocol to continuously be updated and proof checked.

This documentation is posted under a government webpage and thus has a (.gov) domain. Being
released by a government webpage requires authorship to be well trusted and accomplished in the
specific field, a government webpage has an expectation to uphold and thus would not put fake
information for the public to view.
William V Sweet is a paid employee of the national ocean service and it is his job to study weather
forecasting of the ocean. The article expresses how geostationary satellites fulfill this job and contribute
to a much more effective and efficient source of this data, therefore another motif of this article being
written is due to money.

Due to the article being very recent and up to date as it was published and written this year along with
the highly qualified and highly represented authors + organizations involved in delivering this article to a
government webpage, I believe that this article is exceedingly accurate and reliable, thus it is an
appropriate resource for this study.

https://www.weather.gov/about/satellites
Uccellini, Dr.L., 2020. ​Satellites.​ [ONLINE] Weather.gov. Available at:
<https://www.weather.gov/about/satellites> [Accessed 2 December 2020].

The documentation on satellites accessed through the National Weather service website was authored
by Dr. Louis Uccellini. “Dr. Uccellini is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Assistant
Administrator for Weather Services, and Director of the National Weather Service. In this role, he is
responsible for the day-to-day civilian weather operations for the United States, its territories, adjacent
waters, and ocean areas”.
Dr. Louis. W. Uccellini received his Ph.D., Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in meteorology from
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published 70 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in books
on subjects that include: analysis of severe weather outbreaks, snowstorms, gravity waves, jet streaks,
cyclones, and the use of satellite data in analysis and modeling applications.

This article was written and published in 2020 and is continuously updated to hold the most up to date
reliable information given to its audience as it is a part of the US government National Services system,
also meaning it is a government domain (.gov).
Dr Louis, Uccillini’s job requires him to write these reports and therefore he has reason to share
trustworthy documentation for the organization and for the recognition of his own name and position in
the organization.
If the article is false or unvalid then the US government is held responsible for these actions and this
essentially points to the untrustworthiness of their statements, therefore giving reason not to allow
untrustworthy documentation to be displayed through their webpages.

Due to the outstanding credentials, up to date publication and information, trustworthy authorship,
reputable domain and quality proof checking I believe that this database article is extremely accurate
and reliable as a resource for the discussion and evaluation of geostationary satellites.

What to add
Part B:
- In jugement add that they are currently released articles that are in an appropriate time frame
for this study. - they are up to date sources therefore they are most accurate.

Part A
- Shorten the first bit -
- Add why the advantages are advantages, meaning why does that point actually help us.
- Add an introduction sentence.
- Fix margins can make it wider.

THE END.
Shown below are 4 different eccentricities with the same major axis.
Figure 2. Shows all of them having one foci point at the grey dot
Figure 3. Shows ellipses shifted so that all of the centres concur rather then one foci point

In the diagram above, figure. 3., we can clearly see that when the centres are shifted to coincide that the
eccentricity 0 and eccentricity 0.14 are indistinguishable, however compared to figure. 2., the shapes are
virtually identical, they are distinguishable due to the focal point being different, the difference is
considerably large as the definition of eccentricity, the distance from the focus to the center of the
ellipse goes linearly in ε, while the difference between the lengths of the major and minor axes goes as
ε². The shifting of the focus will make the altitude at apogee differ from the altitude at perigee even
though the orbit is essentially circular.
- Thus we can describe and predict the motion of satellites and planets through the application of
the relationships and derived equations formed from uniform circular motion as the satellites
will orbit in an essentially perfect circle.

The centripetal force applied to the satellite which holds it in orbit is provided by the gravitational
attraction of the satellite to the centre of body, in this case; a geostationary satellite is attracted to the
centre of the Earth.
Therefore since Fc = Fg
And Fg = GM1m2/r²
Fc = GM1m2/r²

And as, a𝚌 = Fc/m then centripetal acceleration also = GM1/r²

This means that we can think of the satellite as being in freefall towards the centre of the Earth; and the
tangential velocity would be just fast enough for the satellite to remain the same distance from the
central body as it falls towards it.

Figure 4.

Figure 4. A satellite will continuously accelerate towards the centre of the Earth however will not get
closer, this principle is exactly true for that of uniform circular motion and thus reinforces the uniform
circular motion principle basis applied to geostationary satellites.

For an object undergoing uniform circular motion the tangential velocity and period are related through
the equation:
V = 2∏r/T
V = velocity
∏ = pi
r = distance from the centre of the Earth to the satellite
T = period of satellite orbiting Earth.

The equations for centripetal force and centripetal acceleration explored in the principles of uniform
circular motion;
Fc = mv²/r
a𝚌 = v²/r
Will be applied to the motion of satellites to derive further circular motion equations for geostationary
satellites.
Centripetal force of the satellite = mv²/r and also = GM1m2/r²
Therefore we can derive the equation that gives us the tangential velocity required to be in orbit at a
specific radius.
mv²/r = GM1m2/r²
mv²r = GM1m2
v²r = GM1
v² = GM1/r
V = √GM1/r

By deriving this tangential velocity of the geostationary satellite we can now form an expression that
relates the period (T) and the orbital radius (r).
This expression is known as the ‘satellite equation’.
Hence, V = ​√GM1/r​ and V = ​2∏r/T

√GM1/r = 2∏r/T
GM1/r = 4∏²r²/T²
GM1 = 4∏²r³/T²
r³/T² = GM1/4∏²
- V = velocity
- ∏ = pi
- M = mass of the Earth (mass of central body)
- r = distance from the centre of the Earth to the satellite
- T = period of satellite orbiting Earth.
All in the textbook as well...

- What makes the Earth spin (Principles)

- What keeps Satellite in orbit (Principle)
- How it is geostationary (Principles)
(42164 km from the Earth's centre)

Do I have to explain how I derived the equations?

Is that value judgement worthy to be considered for both uses?
Have I covered all the main principles, are there more that should be
included or replaced?
Is this looking at top marks and top rank?