Practical Applications
Given the total mass and the scalars r and v at a single point of the orbit, one can compute r and v at any other point in the orbit.
Given the total mass and the scalars r and v at a single point of the orbit, one can compute the specific orbital energy, allowing an object orbiting a larger object to be classified as having not enough energy to remain in orbit, hence being "suborbital" (a ballistic missile, for example), having enough energy to be "orbital", but without the possibility to complete a full orbit anyway because it eventually collides with the other body, or having enough energy to come from and/or go to infinity (as a meteor, for example).
Read more about this topic: Vis-viva Equation
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“Wisdom is not just knowing fundamental truths, if these are unconnected with the guidance of life or with a perspective on its meaning. If the deep truths physicists describe about the origin and functioning of the universe have little practical import and do not change our picture of the meaning of the universe and our place within it, then knowing them would not count as wisdom.”
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