Orbital motion simulated by ball rolling on wooden potential well.
What it shows:
Motion in a central potential is demonstrated by a ball rolling on a circular 1/r curved surface.
How it works:
The 1/r potential well simulates the gravitational potential surrounding a point mass; a ball bearing moving in this potential follows a parabolic or elliptical orbit depending upon its initial trajectory and velocity. As it loses energy due to friction, the orbit decays and the ball spirals towards the centre of the well. You could...
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