One reason the ancients thought the earth was flat was that
they couldn't figure out what what would keep all us who lived "down under"
from falling off.
Newton (him again) suggested that all objects are attracted to each other, and that this force was proportional to the size of the object, and the distance apart they were. Fortunately, the size of this force between you and I is not enough
is not enough to keep us stuck together.
The gravitational attraction for objects on the Earth, measured
in Newtons is roughly 10 x your mass in kilograms. (9.8x to be exact)
Notice that your mass and your weight are different, even though
we talk about them as if they are in everyday conversation. Your mass is
simply how much matter there is in you. Your weight is the force you exert
on whichever planet you happen to be on at the time. Click here for an
on-line experiment.
|