Kepler's Third Law Calculator

Inspectable records

Ledger state

The current ledger marks this instrument verified with errata that must be applied at binding time.

Area

Physics — Kinematics/Projectiles/Orbits, Forces/Energy/Momentum, Rotational Dynamics, Gravitation, Oscillations/Waves, Optics, E&M Fields, Relativity, Quantum, Statistical Thermo

Tranche

tranche-4

Evidence ID

t4-035

Ledger rows

1

No ledger note is attached.

Review findings

The displayed central-mass formula is standard only in the negligible-orbiting-mass approximation. Because the instrument claims a two-body calculation, omits the secondary mass, and ambiguously describes an inverse 'given T' mode, the specification fails verification.

Formula and scope findings

• For a true two-body system, the standard formula is T²=4π²a³/[G(M+m)], where M and m are both masses; using only central mass M is an approximation valid when the orbiting body's mass is negligible.
• The AU/year relation T²=a³ is valid only for a solar-mass central system under defined astronomical-unit and year conventions; more generally it is T²=a³/(M/M_sun+m/M_sun).
• The output description says 'period T (or a given T)' but does not specify the inverse formula, mode selection, or whether the calculator computes a from an entered T. The inverse formula would be a=[G(M+m)T²/(4π²)]^(1/3).

Unit assumptions

• SI mode requires a in metres, G in m³·kg⁻¹·s⁻², masses in kilograms, and T is returned in seconds.
• AU/year mode requires a in astronomical units and T in the selected year convention; using 365.25 days gives 31,557,600 seconds per year.
• The AU/year shortcut assumes the central mass plus orbiting mass is approximately one solar mass; it is not exact for arbitrary central masses.
• Semi-major axis must be nonnegative; an orbital semi-major axis is physically positive, so a=0 is only a mathematical boundary test.

Boundary hardening

BREAK_CLAIMED · SELF_FLAGGED

The specification exposes hazardous inputs: a=0 is mathematically defined but physically degenerate, central mass M=0 causes division by zero, and a negative semi-major axis produces convention-dependent behavior or a non-real result. The instrument should validate these cases explicitly.

Errata and corrections

Tranche errata

Inspectable example

4 review vectors are recorded. One source-bound sample is shown below.

{
  "inputs": {
    "mode": "SI",
    "a_m": 149600000000,
    "central_mass_kg": 1.989e+30,
    "G_m3_kg_s2": 6.6743e-11
  },
  "expected_outputs": {
    "period_s": 31554100
  },
  "working": "GM=(6.6743×10^-11)(1.989×10^30)=1.32751827×10^20 m³/s². a³=(1.496×10^11)³=3.348071936×10^33 m³. T²=4π²a³/(GM)=39.4784176×(3.348071936×10^33)/(1.32751827×10^20)=9.956×10^14 s². T=√(9.956×10^14)=3.1554×10^7 s≈31,554,100 s."
}

Related workflows

No source-defined multi-instrument workflow membership is recorded.

Sources and evidence

These pointers bind the page to evidence. They do not grant authority or collapse verification into deployment.

• VERIFIED_LEDGER.json · VERIFIED_WITH_ERRATA
• evidence-tranche4/tranche4-results.json
• BOUNDARY_HAZARD_CATALOG.json