[Physics] Can orbital energy be a source of perpetual power

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A thought just came to me, and I want to comfirm it here:

If we figured out a way to harvest the energy from the orbit of the Moon, would that be perpetual?

The Moon has been orbiting the earth for billions of years without disappearing for any reason. The problem of the Moon losing 4 meters per year might be able to be solved by the energy of its orbit.

Would this form of energy be perpetual? What if it happened elsewhere? What if this planet with a Moon is in a hydrogen cloud?

Best Answer

If you could take from orbital energy, then it would decrease, until at some point in the future it would zero. Hence, it can't be perpetual.

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