ESCAPE VELOCITY


Meaning of ESCAPE VELOCITY in English

Speed sufficient for a body to escape from a gravitational centre of attraction without accelerating further.

It decreases with altitude and equals the square root of 2 (about 1.414) times the speed needed to maintain a circular orbit at the same altitude. At the surface of Earth, disregarding atmospheric resistance, escape velocity is about 6.96 mi/second (11.2 km/second). Escape velocity from the surface of the Moon is about one-third of this.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.