Can Gravity Alone Make an Asteroid Burn? | Simple Space Calculus

Can gravity alone accelerate an asteroid fast enough to make it burn in the atmosphere? In this video, we use simple calculus to connect Newtonian gravity, work, kinetic energy, and escape velocity. We start with Newton’s gravitational interaction formula, then use the work integral to calculate how much energy gravity gives to a falling object. From there, we connect gravitational work to kinetic energy and derive the speed gained by an object falling from very far away. The result is the same value as escape velocity. For Earth, this gives approximately 11.18 km/s. Then we compare this…