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arXiv · 1312.3893

Circular orbits on a warped spandex fabric

Chad A. Middleton·Michael Langston
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Abstract

We present a theoretical and experimental analysis of circular-like orbits made by a marble rolling on a warped spandex fabric. We show that the mass of the fabric interior to the orbital path influences the motion of the marble in a nontrivial way, and can even dominate the orbital characteristics. We also compare a Kepler-like expression for such orbits to similar expressions for orbits about a spherically-symmetric massive object in the presence of a constant vacuum energy, as described by general relativity.

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Chad A. Middleton, Michael Langston. 2013-12-10. Circular orbits on a warped spandex fabric. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4848635

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