All Questions
Tagged with newtonian-gravity planets
61
questions
60
votes
4
answers
142k
views
How does gravity work underground?
Would the effect of gravity on me change if I were to dig a very deep hole and stand in it? If so, how would it change? Am I more likely to be pulled downwards, or pulled towards the edges of the hole?...
- 703
39
votes
5
answers
34k
views
Would you be weightless at the center of the Earth?
If you could travel to the center of the Earth (or any planet), would you be weightless there?
- 543
19
votes
3
answers
4k
views
If it was possible to dig a hole that went from one side of the Earth to the other...
...And you jumped in.
What would happen when you got to the middle of the Earth? Would you gradually slow down, until you got to the middle and once you were in middle would every direction feel like ...
- 387
20
votes
5
answers
136k
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Why is Earth's gravity stronger at the poles?
Many sources state that the Earth's gravity is stronger at the poles than the equator for two reasons:
The centrifugal "force" cancels out the gravitational force minimally, more so at the equator ...
- 517
39
votes
6
answers
91k
views
Why don't planets have Circular orbits?
This might be a completely wrong question, but this is bothering me since many days ago. Given the mass (Sun) curves the space around it, gravitation is the result of such curved space (Correct me if ...
- 525
18
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is it possible to prove that planets should be approximately spherical using the calculus of variations?
Is it possible to use the Lagrangian formalism involving physical terms to answer the question of why all planets are approximately spherical?
Let's assume that a planet is 'born' when lots of ...
- 4,747
7
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Radial fall in a Newtonian gravitational field [duplicate]
Suppose an object of mass $m$ starts at rest at a radial distance $ r_0$ from a perfectly spherical mass $M$ (where $m << M$), $r_0 > R =$ radius of $M$.
Can we analytically determine when ...
- 885
33
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Why does the Moon face Earth with the same side?
I know that the rotation period of the moon equals its revolution period. It's just so astonishing that these 2 values have such a small difference. I mean, what is the probability of these 2 values ...
- 495
25
votes
9
answers
28k
views
Why are orbits elliptical? [duplicate]
Almost all of the orbits of planets and other celestial bodies are elliptical, not circular.
Is this due to gravitational pull by other nearby massive bodies?
If this was the case a two body system ...
- 1,374
10
votes
5
answers
37k
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Why does the Moon not revolve around the Sun directly?
The sun pulls on the moon with a force that is more than twice the magnitude of the force with which the earth attracts the moon. Why, then, doesn’t the sun take the moon away from the earth?
- 219
2
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Two bodies of finite size treated as two point masses in Newtonian gravity
When discussing gravitation between two bodies of finite size, for instance Earth around the Sun, we suppose the mass of Earth and the Sun to be perfectly localized at the center of each body. Is this ...
user60924
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Rotational oblateness
I am trying to compute the amount of oblateness that is caused by planetary rotation. I picture the force of gravity added to the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the planet as follows:
$\...
- 416
11
votes
7
answers
2k
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What's the biggest cube you could have before gravity rounded it?
I took this question from Quora because it seems interesting and this community would have some fun with it.
I would assume that one would use the modulus formulas for force to counteract the gravity, ...
- 459
96
votes
4
answers
13k
views
If Earth had rings?
If Earth had rings, would they center on the equator like Saturn's rings do on its equator?
- 1
14
votes
6
answers
10k
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Can low-gravity planets sustain a breathable atmosphere?
If astronauts could deliver a large quantity of breathable air to somewhere with lower gravity, such as Earth's moon, would the air form an atmosphere, or would it float away and disappear? Is there a ...
- 477