Wondering about wild grapes

Monday, November 24, 2014

Wondering About Gravity

Sometimes when I don't take time to think about something, the conclusion is usually faulty.  I know that I am not alone on this.  I was wondering where I would weigh the most if I used the same spring scale but got weighed in different locations.  So, don't take time to think about this but tell me, where do you think you would weigh less, in Death Valley or on top of Mount Everest?

My quick answer without thinking was Death Valley because I would be closer to the center of the Earth, as if the center of the Earth is where gravity comes from.  Well, after thinking about it, I changed my mind and now think it would be on top of Mount Everest.  Why, because there is more mass below me up on the mountain than there would be down in Death Valley.  Mass is (or particles are) what posses the attracting force we call gravity, so anywhere there is more mass under you, you would weigh more on a spring scale.

The same is true for the moon.  In my latest copy of Discover, there was an article in it that told about two moon orbiters that have sent back information about gravity on the moon.  The warmer colors, like reds, are the highest and the darker the lowest.  Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am going to post a picture to keep my hands from getting too tired trying to type a thousands more words:

OK, I think I made it large enough to read what it says, if not, click on the picture to download it or enlarge the blog page.  Now you all have a great out of this world day, you hear?

8 comments:

  1. I'm gonna say you'd weigh the same at Death Valley as you would on top of Mt. Everest (I'd rather be on top of Old Smoky though). If there's a difference it's probably from the exertion needed to climb that mountain!

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    1. Actually you weigh more on top of Old Smoky than in Death Valley because there is more mass under you and mass is what produces gravity. It may not be noticeable but there is a difference.

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    2. I just can't get my head around that concept. I've seen and heard some similar explanations on the Science channel lately, and just accept it because it doesn't fit any logic in my mind.

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    3. There is a lot of things that I can't get my head around. Like Einstein's spooky action that connect particles that could be on either side of the universe. See my older posting: http://dizzydick.blogspot.com/2014/09/wondering-about-entangled-particles.html

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  2. I don't know the answer but can only say that my own center of gravity weighs more than I wish no matter which place I'd stand.

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    1. I wouldn't worry about your center of gravity unless things start to orbit around you (grin).

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  3. I know about gravity, heck I thought everyone knew about gravity...
    Gravity sucks! :)

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    1. It sure does suck and pull and holds you on this spinning Earth. The older I get the more gravity affects me.

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