Calculating the way three things orbit each other is notoriously tricky — but a new study may reveal 12,000 new ways to make it work.

Mathematicians find 12,000 new solutions to ‘unsolvable’ 3-body problem::Calculating the way three things orbit each other is notoriously tricky, but a new study may reveal 12,000 new solutions.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Isn’t this already solved by total gravitational mass anyway? I’m not understanding what this article even means. You have 3 bodies that are constantly losing mass, and any difference in equilibrium means they fall out of orbit with each other. 3 bodies of exactly or near the density would decay at the same rate. I’m a laymen, but help me out here.

    • Mini_Moonpie@startrek.websiteEnglish
      9·
      1 year ago

      PBS has a good video on it: https://youtu.be/et7XvBenEo8?si=w2ZJDnYQbWDY3TgR

      The summary is that scientists don’t have a single, simple equation that they can use to precisely predict the orbits of three bodies based on the initial positions and velocities of those bodies like they can with only two bodies (the two-body problem). The solutions they have are either approximate solutions (not precise, but close enough to be useful), equations that apply only to specific types of orbits and therefore can’t be used to predict other three-body orbits, and a general equation that is so ridiculously long that it is not really usable. I am also just a layman, so take my summary with a grain of salt, but hopefully the video will help.