Adiabatic Mass Loss

MediumPhysElo Quiz #4

24.Adiabatic Mass Loss

+10

A spacecraft is in a circular orbit of radius

R

around a star of mass

M

. Over a time period much longer than the spacecraft's orbital period, the star isotropically sheds half of its mass via stellar winds. Assuming the spacecraft's mass remains constant and the ejected stellar material does not interact with the spacecraft, what is the final radius of the spacecraft's orbit?

R/2

R

\sqrt{2}R

2R

EThe spacecraft escapes the star's gravity, so the orbit becomes unbounded.

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