Working mass Working mass Working mass, also referred to as reaction mass, is a mass against which a system operates in order to produce acceleration. In the case of a rocket, for example, the reaction mass is the fuel shot backwards to provide propulsion. All acceleration requires an exchange of momentum, which can be thought of as the "unit of movement". Momentum is related to mass and velocity, as given by the formula "P = mv," where "P" is the momentum, "m" the mass, and "v" the velocity. The velocity of a body is easily changeable, but in most cases the mass
Numerical model of the Solar System "a", "a") can be calculated from Newton's Law of Gravitation. Each body attracts each other body, the total acceleration being the sum of all these attractions. Next one chooses a small time-step Δ"t" and applies Newton's Second Law of Motion. The acceleration multiplied with Δ"t" gives a correction to the velocity. The velocity multiplied with Δ"t" gives a correction to the position. This procedure is repeated for all other bodies. The result is a new value for position and velocity for all bodies. Then, using these new values one starts over the whole calculation for the next time-step Δ"t". Repeating