From: Ross A. Finlayson (raf@tiki-lounge.com)
Date: Sun Jan 07 2001 - 22:32:40 MST
Spike Jones wrote:
> "Ross A. Finlayson" wrote:
>
>> Also, on Mercury, as it doesn't spin as it revolves around the Sun
>> but points
>> towards it, half of Mercury is always pointed towards the Sun and
>> the other half
>> dark, like Earth's Moon.
>
> Ross, altho it was once thought to be tidelocked to the sun, it is
> now known that the planet Mercury rotates three times
> for every two times it orbits the Sun (a ``3 - 2 spin-orbit
> resonance'').
> Its too bad, for otherwise we could set up a station on Mercury's
> constant dawn, and have unlimited access to a big heat source
> and a big cold source.
>
Yes I've since heard. It's probably good that I brought my
misconception to light, or someday in the future I would say it and be
exposed as wrong then.
>
> Heres a really good web page for orbit mechanics fans:
>
> http://www.astronomynotes.com/gravappl/gravapplb.htm
>
> spike
Yes it's pretty good, although I can't call myself an "orbit mechanics
fan." I read a book about tensor math that had good orbit solutions
shown. I have been trying to learn the newer geometric algebras also
called Clifford algebras, they are based on vector spaces and
directions, orientations, and reflections among them. For example there
are spinors which include quaternions and octonions and other Cayley
numbers, at this point. The reason I mention is because this math would
have elegant solutions for these mechanics.
Ross
-- Ross Andrew Finlayson Finlayson Consulting Ross at Tiki-Lounge: http://www.tiki-lounge.com/~raf/ "The best mathematician in the world is Maplev in Ontario." - Pertti L.
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