AP Physics

The Physics 12 AP-B has recently been studying orbital dynamics. This topic involves the analysis of forces acting on satellites as they orbit the Earth, the Sun or any other central mass. Our understanding of these principles dates back to 1687 when Sir Isaac Newton published the Principia, a work regarded by many as one of the great achievements of science. Newton, of course, claimed to "have stood on the shoulders of giants," a reference to the work of, amongst others, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei. Using Newton's same laws 282 years later, NASA successfully landed on the Moon and Neil Armstrong took humankind's first steps on an astronomical body other than Earth! A student from Duxbury House gave a presentation to his classmates on Kepler's 3 Laws of Planetary Motion. Here he is seen explaining these ideas, and showing the class the elliptical paths followed by planets in their journey around the Sun.

By the way, it's worth pointing out that the Earth actually passed through "perihelion" on 4 January; this means that on this date it was actually at its closest point to the Sun. The frigid weather here in BC would seem to contradict this fact, but perhaps the weather is a little warmer in Australia just now! The good news for us is that at perihelion the Earth is travelling around the Sun at its fastest. This means that when our summer finally arrives, the Earth will be travelling at its slowest and our northern summer will linger on for 5 more days than the southern hemisphere's summer. Thanks, Kepler and Newton!

– Stephen Lane, Physics