172k views
2 votes
What is the three-body problem? Explain at a level so an 8th grader could understand

User Amin
by
3.6k points

1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

In physics and classical mechanics, the three-body problem is the problem of taking the initial positions and velocities (or momenta) of three point masses and solving for their subsequent motion according to Newton's laws of motion and Newton's law of universal gravitation.[1] The three-body problem is a special case of the n-body problem. Unlike two-body problems, no general closed-form solution exists,[1] as the resulting dynamical system is chaotic for most initial conditions, and numerical methods are generally required.

Hope this answer is right!

User Giuseppe De Marco
by
3.0k points