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
Earth mass value) in the Schiehallion experiment in the 1770s, and within 1% of the modern value in the Cavendish experiment of 1798. The mass of Earth is estimated to be: which can be expressed in terms of solar mass as: The ratio of Earth mass to lunar mass has been measured to great accuracy. The current best estimate is: The "G" product for the Earth is called the geocentric gravitational constant and equals It is determined using laser ranging data from Earth-orbiting satellites, such as LAGEOS-1. The "G" product can also be calculated by observing the motion of the Moon or