Earth Satellites
Newton argued that if a cannon could be placed on a hill high enough to be outside the earth's atmosphere, and if the cannon could be made powerful enough, a cannonball could be placed in orbit around the earth.
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Suppose that the shot from the cannon results in a path like that of path A in the figure. If the cannon were more powerful, the ball might take a path like B, or even C. Finally, if a powerful enough cannon could be obtained, it could shoot the cannonball so that the cannonball would come back to where it started. It would then be in orbit.