Second Law
- "A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time."
In a small time the planet sweeps out a small triangle having base line and height .
The area of this triangle is given by
and so the constant areal velocity is
Now as the first law states that the planet follows an ellipse, the planet is at different distances from the Sun at different parts in its orbit. So the planet has to move faster when it is closer to the Sun so that it sweeps equal areas in equal times.
The total area enclosed by the elliptical orbit is
- .
Therefore the period
satisfies
or
where
is the angular velocity, (using Newton notation for differentiation), and
is the mean motion of the planet around the Sun.
Read more about this topic: Kepler's Laws Of Planetary Motion
Famous quotes containing the word law:
“Concord’s little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
““If the law supposes that,” said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, “the law is a ass—a idiot. If that’s the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience—by experience.””
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)