To escape Earth's gravitational field, a rocket must be launched with an initial velocity called the escape velocity. A rocket launched from the surface of Earth has velocity v (in miles per second) given by
where v0 is the initial velocity,
r is the distance from the rocket to the center of Earth
G is the gravitational constant
W is the mass of Earth,
and R is the radius of Earth (approximately4000 miles).
Find the value of v„" for which you obtain an infinite limit for r as v approaches zero. This value of v0 is the escape velocity for Earth.
