Symbol v
v is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.
Read this term in its guide →Published equation contexts
Why this formula appears here
Comparative planetology treats a planet as a layered physical system rather than a point of light, and the physics of that layering is not exotic — it is gravitational settling under heat. A body accreting from a mixture of metal and silicate material differentiates because denser iron-rich material sinks relative to lighter silicate material, provided the interior is warm enough (from accretion energy, radioactive decay, and impacts) for solid-like material to behave as a slow-moving fluid over geological time. The basic settling physics is captured by a Stokes-law sinking velocity for a dense blob of radius r and density moving through a less dense, viscous mantle of density …
Read the representative guide
Symbol g
g occurs above the fraction bar. The numerator is divided by the entire denominator below it.
Read this term in its guide →Symbol rho_m
rh occurs above the fraction bar. The numerator is divided by the entire denominator below it.
Read this term in its guide →Symbol rho_s
rh occurs above the fraction bar. The numerator is divided by the entire denominator below it.
Read this term in its guide →Symbol eta
eta occurs below the fraction bar. The quantity above the bar is divided by this expression; zero is excluded as a denominator.
Read this term in its guide →Numerator: 2 g r^2 (rho_m - rho_s)
The complete quantity above the fraction bar.
Read this term in its guide →Denominator: 9eta
The complete quantity below the fraction bar; it must be nonzero for this division.
Read this term in its guide →How to interpret it
With a fixed numerator, increasing a nonzero denominator reduces the fraction. Read it with the definitions, units, and assumptions supplied by the article.
Published contexts (1)
A symbol can carry a different meaning in another article. Each occurrence keeps its own guide and term definitions.
Equation 5 · Space Science
From Origins to Frontier: A History of Planetary Science and Exploration
This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions.
Comparative planetology treats a planet as a layered physical system rather than a point of light, and the physics of that layering is not exotic — it is gravitational settling under heat. A body accreting from a mixture of metal and silicate material differentiates because denser iron-rich material sinks relative to lighter silicate material, provided the interior is warm enough (from accretion energy, radioactive decay, and impacts) for solid-like material to behave as a slow-moving fluid over geological time. The basic settling physics is captured by a Stokes-law sinking velocity for a dense blob of radius r and density moving through a less dense, viscous mantle of density …
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