(2)

Hence equal areas are swept over by the radius vector in equal times.

If P be the acceleration towards O, we have

v dv= −P dr
ds ds

(3)

since dr/ds is the cosine of the angle between the directions of r and δs. We will suppose that P is a function of r only; then integrating (3) we find

1⁄2v2 = − ∫ P dr + const.,

(4)

which is recognized as the equation of energy. Combining this with (1) we have

h2= C − 2 ∫ P dr,
p2