Two-body problem

In classical mechanics, the two-body problem is used to calculate and predict the motion of two massive bodies that are orbiting each other in space. The problem assumes that the two bodies are perfect spheres that never collide with one another and that all external forces are negligible compared to the force of interaction between the two bodies. The most prominent example of the classical two-body problem is the gravitational case (see also Kepler problem), arising in astronomy for predicting the orbits (or escapes from orbit) of objects such as satellites, planets, and stars. A two-point-particle model of such a system nearly always describes its behavior well enough to provide useful insights and predictions. A simpler "one-body" model, the "central-force problem", treats one object as the immobile source of a force acting on the other. One then seeks to predict the motion of the single remaining mobile object. Such an approximation can give useful results when one object is much more massive than the other (as with a light planet orbiting a heavy star, where the star can be treated as essentially stationary). However, the one-body approximation is usually unnecessary except as a stepping stone. For many forces, including gravitational ones, the general version of the two-body problem can be reduced to a pair of one-body problems, allowing it to be solved completely, and giving a solution simple enough to be used effectively. By contrast, the three-body problem (and, more generally, the n-body problem for n > 2) cannot be solved generally, except in special cases.