I feel like I’ve thought about this my entire life and can never wrap my head around it.
****On a merry go round the further you get from center the more centrifugal force you feel and consequently the more centripetal force (they are equal and opposite if you are at equilibrium). But at the center they are both net zero.
****On earth, presumably the equator would exert the maximum centripetal force due to it being the furthest away from the axis. The centripetal force keeping you on the ground is gravity and that equals your centrifugal force trying to fling you off earth.
****But at the poles, how….. and why….. where tf did gravity go? There’s no centrifugal force which means there’s no equal and opposite centripetal force (gravity).
gravity.. like a magnet.. but not just metal things.. everything
edit add-on.. pulling towards what.. the core of the earth?
edit add-on again.. after reading what you said.. merry go rounds.. have less force towards the middle. That would mean.. here on earth.. if you'd go towards the middle of the earth, the core, you'd have less gravity. I don't know.. you may be talking about "centrifugal" force like a clothes laundry room washing machine. Not gravity. So the merry go round.. similar. The earth though.. the core.. big things in space.. the moon, eh.. couldn't you tie a long rope to it or wire and come down here, danging down.. yeah it's a long wire railroad but grab up and go to space for free instead. Best to buy wire for that instead of gas to get to orbit now.
The moon eh.. how's that cause the wire or rope, lol. space rope.. to still hang up there if you'd grab it. Big thing out there.
Gravity, electricity, and magnetism are all one in the same force; Acceleration towards a null pressure point in the aether. On a merry-go-round, pressure (acceleration) is created, from it’s center, and outside of it is the null point of which you accelerate towards. Now, everything is magnetic to some degree; that is to say that no matter what matter is composed of, it all accelerates towards the lowest pressure poin In it’s proximity. On a planet, the very center of it is a sustained low-pressure point, exerting great magnetic attraction to everything around it. So being surface-dwelling life forms, we feel the pull from outside-in. Now, the earth spinning which causes it to be the oblate spheroid, where the majority of mass is at the equator, is just an example of rotation causing mass to migrate away from the pull of the lowest pressure point: the center of the earth. At the poles, there is objectively less mass and less (outward) rotational pull, but the force pulling inward keeps you planted on the ground.
Now more on the merry go round, You'd be correct to think that at the very center, you wouldn’t feel a pull at all. But why is the force opposite? Why does a merry go round try to spot you out? This is a matter of scale. There is indeed a null pressure point at the very center, but the rotational speed of the ride is more than enough to try to fling you outwards, easily overcoming the the null point within its center. However, a rotating amusement ride does not possess the power that lives in the center of the earth. What is in the center of the earth is a sustained, low pressure point, of enormous effect, that we feel all the time.
I’m still studying this topic and have not found the correct words to use to describe what exactly this point is and how it is sustained. The answers that academia gives out are not correct, because this is a matter of aether-physics, which they are scared to approach because it will require 300 years of physics to be rethought. That’s why it is slow going trying to find these answers.
Thanks for the reply and great info.
One thing I was not accounting for is that centrifugal force actually increases with decreasing radius from axis. Meaning the closer to the poles, the more centrifugal force.
Ah yes I know the formula. I remember sitting in electrical engineering prereq classes asking the professor if they understood the similarities in the two equations. Thanks for the reminder I have practiced much EE recently. But that’s something I’m gonna rabbit hole.
Due to centripetal force (angular momentum) you weigh about .1% less at the equator than you do at the poles. Gravity is approx 1000x stronger than whatever angular momentum forces caused by the earth's rotation.
To fully counteract the force of gravity you experience while staying "stationary" (which in this case means orbiting the earth at the same speed earth spins) - you would have to orbit at roughly 22,236 miles from the surface of the earth's equator.
None of those things need to be "equal and opposite."
...your second bullet point is wrong, or at least the 2nd sentence therein is wrong. Gravity (GMm/r^2) is much stronger than the 'centripetal' force required to maintain you in circular motion.
...your third point... well,gravity is still there, binding you to earth. It's just that it no longer needs to counteract your inertia (inertia is what you're calling 'centrifugal force')
To be honest, this is actually pretty difficult to understand because of how they teach 'centripetal' and 'centrifugal' acceleration.
Well…. I’m sorry but this comment is wrong lol. The wrong part in bullet two is assuming centrifugal force increases with radius vs the inverse. Gravity is absolutely working as a centripetal force just by the very definition of centripetal force.
Centrifugal force increases with decreasing radius therefore at the poles or near them centrifugal force is greatest. But here’s the catch, the vector of centrifugal force becomes more perpendicular to the gravitational force and that’s actually the answer to bullet 3. Now the question becomes…. What counteracts the near perpendicular centrifugal force at the poles? That’s angular momentum driven and is so low that it’s not worth asking the question.
(sigh)... I know why you're saying this, but it's wrong! Since the earth is a sphere, every point on earth has the exact same angular velocity. This means that people near the poles have effectively zero inertia (which, again, is what you're calling centrifugal force) So near the poles, effectively zero force is required to counteract the inertia.
Again, this is a difficult topic, and I doubt that many physics PhDs understand it.
It’s retard food.