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What is the minimum altitude a batted baseball would have to reach, that it would no longer return to the earth?
Assuming there were no obstructions ?
And what is that region called?
Rather than trying to exit earths gravity, let’s pretend we have a telescopic device that can extend to the moon. We put a 1pound steel ball on the top of our device. How far would you have to extend until the steel ball will not remain on the end of this telescopic devise, when retracted? And is there a name for this region of space?
2 Answers
- Jeffrey KLv 710 months ago
If it has escape velocity (25,000 miles/hr in the upward direction) and never returns to the ground, then it would keep getting further away forever. You could say it reaches infinite altitude in infinite time.
If it has enough speed to go into orbit (17,500 miles/hr tangent to the Earth's surface) , it could be at any altitude. If there was no air, it could orbit an inch above the ground.
- MorningfoxLv 710 months ago
The baseball (or any object) would have to get up beyond the Earth's "sphere of influence", which is about 923,000 kilometers from Earth surface. Details depend on the relative positions of the moon, sun, Earth, and the baseball.
If you had a machine that could hit a baseball that hard, the real result would be (1) the baseball would disintegrate, and/or (2) the ball would burn up from air friction. There's a reason why we don't just "bat" satellites into orbit!
