Consider three planets, P1 , P2 , and P3 , each with masses m1 , m2 , and m3, initially positioned infinitely far apart. The work required to bring them into a stable equilateral triangular configuration around their common center of mass, where each side of the triangle has the same distance r, is given by:
W=−G(rm1m2+rm1m3+rm2m3)
Does this work W correspond to the gravitational binding energy of the planetary system? Explain.
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