How does a rocket travel in space without fuel?
~ An excellent scientific informative article
Newton's first law of motion states:
"Any object, if it is in one state, remains in that state until an external force is applied to it to change its state."
All matter has mass. Mass is actually the property of a substance's resistance to an external force. The more mass an object has, the more resistance it will have to an external force acting against it. This property is called inertia. A heavier stone will require more force to move it because of its greater mass and greater resistance to force (inertia). A light stone or paper will have less mass and you can move, lift or throw it more easily.
While walking on the ground, you have to lift your feet against the earth's gravity, which is pulling you with a force downwards towards the center of the earth. Similarly, when your foot falls on the ground, due to the friction between your foot and the ground, you can keep your foot firmly on the ground and lift it up. Fraction is thus essential and helpful for your walking. You will slip and fall on a wet floor or snow. However, this is the force of friction between your feet and the ground, against which you move forward. As if you need a constant force to move because you are working against this constant friction...!
When a vehicle moves on the road, the grip of its wheels is stronger on the slightly rough surface of the road. Due to this grip, the vehicle stays on the road even when moving fast. It does not slip anywhere. (During rain when this grip is reduced, you will know the lag). Since only part of the wheel is hitting the road at a time, the effect of friction is reduced and the vehicle runs faster. If you drag a board across the road, the entire board will be bumping against the road, so there will be more resistance. You will have to work harder and spend more energy. This invention of Pihe and the understanding of spending less energy against fractions led man to some goals of development.
Let's move on. Why is a train track laid? The friction between the wheels of the train and the track of the train is less, so even the heaviest trains can be pulled by one engine at full speed across the track. Then rail is a low energy efficient mode of transportation and hence it is used to transport goods all over the world.
If you are slightly above the ground, the impact with the ground will be less. A bullet train runs at high speed on the track below and the magnets on the train are arranged in such a way that the train is slightly above the ground. Thus resistance is reduced. However, you have reduced the friction by avoiding the collision with the ground, but there is still air around the train. The wind will resist when you go faster. This is called drag. Have you ever taken your mouth out of a moving car? How fast the wind blows against your face. If you take your hand out of a moving car, your hand will go back. This wind is resisting you and your car. The faster the car moves, the more resistance the air will have. If you extend your hand out of a moving vehicle, it will have more resistance. If you simply point the tip of your finger in the direction of the wind, there will be less air drag or resistance on it. Now you know why the front part of an airplane or a rocket is pointed. :) Yes to reduce drag.
A commercial airplane therefore flies 10 to 11 km above the ground where the air is thin so that it has less drag while flying. Thus the airplane fuel is saved. Now you go above the earth's atmosphere where there is space. There is no wind and you are not hitting anything. There is no resistance here. If you apply a force to an object here, it will continue to move with a certain speed forever.
Recall Newton's first law of motion that objects remain in the same state continuously in the absence of any external force.
However, in space, if you are a few hundred or a few thousand kilometers above the earth, the effect of the earth's gravity on the speed of the rocket after it goes into space will be negligible. So ignore it.
Thus, when a rocket is launched into space with a certain speed, it starts moving in a straight line on the same path forever. Rockets or spacecraft do not need fuel here. However, if the rocket has to increase or decrease its speed or change its direction, its speed can be decreased, increased or changed by releasing the thrusters, which usually contain pressurized gases. Let me tell you one thing here, rockets work more efficiently in space. Because there is no resistance in space.
So in space you don't need fuel on long journeys, but on long journeys you need fuel to change course or to slow down and land on a planet :)Such missions are planned in such a way that the speed of the rockets or the spacecrafts mounted on them after leaving the earth is gradually increased in orbit around the earth and suddenly they are taken out of the orbit in such a way that their speed is accelerated by the sudden exit. It is like if you tie a stone to a rope and spin it very fast and then release it, the stone will increase in speed tremendously and it will go forward. Such rockets or spacecraft or satellites are quickly de-orbited to gain momentum by taking them into orbit around the Earth or other planets in the path, thus saving fuel for increasing speed, which is later on a planet. Can be used to land or launch mission equipment. This method is called gravity assist manoeuvring.
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