Which would require the greater energy; slowing down of the orbital speed of the Earth so it crashes into the sun, or speeding up the orbital speed of the Earth so it escapes the sun?
A) slowing down
B) same each way
C) speeding up

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Speeding up the Earth's orbital speed so it escapes the Sun's gravitational pull requires more energy than slowing it down to crash into the Sun. This is because to escape the Sun's gravity, the Earth would need to reach or exceed the escape velocity, which requires adding significant kinetic energy to overcome the gravitational potential energy binding the Earth to the Sun. Slowing down would merely reduce the kinetic energy, allowing gravity to pull the Earth closer without needing to overcome the escape velocity threshold.

Which Would Require the Greater Energy; Slowing Down of the Orbital