Re: [Phys-l] Lagrange points

["David E. T. Clark" <declark@maine.edu>]

Hi John,

I don't think Wikipedia is completely correct. After the opening  
paragraph and History section, the web site explains each of the  
Lagrangian points. For L1 it states:

L1
The L1 point lies on the line defined by the two large masses M1 and  
M2, and between them. It is the most intuitively understood of the  
Lagrangian points: the one where the gravitational attraction of M2  
balances the gravitational attraction of M1.

On Dec 2, 2009, at 9:39 PM, John Clement wrote:

> The Wikipedia explains the Lagrangian points correctly!
>
> Where are the scientific proofreaders?  The writers would fail the FCI
> because they don't seem to know that when the forces balance the  
> object goes
> in a straight line and will NOT orbit.



David Clark
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy
University of Maine
declark@maine.edu