What is the weight of a copy at Earth's average distance from the sun?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the gravitational attraction or weight of a hypothetical copy of the sun at Earth's average distance from the sun. Participants explore various units of measurement, including Newtons and Planck units, and engage in calculations related to gravitational force and acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how much a copy of the sun would weigh at Earth's average distance, suggesting various units for measurement.
  • Another participant agrees with the use of Planck acceleration and discusses the extreme forces involved in black hole collisions, while also asking for the sun's weight in Newtons.
  • Confusion arises regarding the measurement of the sun's weight, with participants discussing the difference between mass and weight and referencing Planck units.
  • One participant proposes a calculation method using the gravitational force formula (F = GMm/r²) and suggests that the sun's weight at this distance can be calculated in both Planck and metric terms.
  • Another participant provides specific values for the sun's mass and the average distance from the sun, indicating a willingness to perform calculations based on these parameters.
  • Further calculations are presented, including the relationship between the Earth's orbital speed and the gravitational force, with a focus on the ease of using Planck units for such calculations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of agreement on the use of Planck units and the methods for calculating gravitational force, but there is no consensus on the final values or the interpretation of the results. Confusion about the distinction between mass and weight also indicates unresolved issues in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific values and calculations that depend on assumptions about the distance from the sun and the mass of the sun. There are unresolved mathematical steps and differences in approach to the calculations presented.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring gravitational physics, astrophysics, or the application of different units of measurement in theoretical contexts.

marcus
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At this distance from the sun, how much would a copy weigh?


In other words, with what force (in Newtons, or Planck units, or dynes, or tons---your choice) would a copy be attracted if it were at Earth's average distance?

How about this? The Earth's speed, in its roughly circular orbit, is 10^-4.

So raise that to the fourth-----10^-16


That 10^-16 is the sun's weight in Planck units (c=G=hbar=1)

Do you believe that gives the correct answer, and if so, why?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
dav2008 YES that is the right thing to pick
for Planck acceration
two small black holes colliding might attract
each other so much just before they merge
that they accelerate towards each other with
such extreme acceleration, I think, or at least
something approaching that.

what would you say the sun weighs, in Newtons?

planck force is this huge force of 12E43 Newtons
and so I am predicting E-16 of that
can you verify it?
 
Originally posted by marcus

what would you say the sun weighs, in Newtons?

Hmm? I am kind of confused with respect to what are u measuring the sun's weight? It has a definite mass...u can look it up somewhere..

Are u replying to the other topic and posted a new one accidentally? Or is this a new one related to that?? *Confused*
 
Originally posted by dav2008
Hmm? I am kind of confused with respect to what are u measuring the sun's weight? It has a definite mass...u can look it up somewhere..

Are u replying to the other topic and posted a new one accidentally? Or is this a new one related to that?? *Confused*

sorry I caused you confusion---I was doing two things in one post. First, what you said about Planck acceleration is absolutely right! It is unit speed over unit time: c over Planckunittime.

And just like in metric, where unit force (Newton) is what gives
a unit of acceleration to the unit mass,
in Planck the unit force (planck force) is what gives
a Planck mass the unit acceleration.
it turns out to be c^4/G and in metric terms it is 12E43 Newtons.

this other question about the sun's weight is a separate issue
With what force in Newtons would the sun attract a copy of itself placed at this distance----150 million kilometers.

In other words what would the sun weigh in a gravitational field like that which the Earth experiences from the sun.

In Planck terms this force (which would be the sun's weight-force at this distance) is very simple to calculate. It is just 10^-16 of the universal force constant or Planck force. But you can also calculate if from the masses of the sun and its copy expressed in kilograms, and the metric value of G = 6.673x10^-11 m^3s^-2 per kilogram, and the distance between them by the usual law
that the force is GMm/r^2.
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by marcus
At this distance from the sun, how much would a copy weigh?


In other words, with what force (in Newtons, or Planck units, or dynes, or tons---your choice) would a copy be attracted if it were at Earth's average distance?

How about this? The Earth's speed, in its roughly circular orbit, is 10^-4.

So raise that to the fourth-----10^-16


That 10^-16 is the sun's weight in Planck units (c=G=hbar=1)

Do you believe that gives the correct answer, and if so, why?

dav commented but no one responded with a calculation, so I will reply to my own questions in this thread:

Working with c=G=hbar=k=1 units one of the few data I remember are the Earth's orbit speed E-4 (one tenthousandth of the speed of light) and distance to the sun 93E44 (93 million miles)

From that, by squaring the speed (E-8) and multiplying that by the distance I can tell that the mass of the sun is 93E36

And by squaring the square of the speed (E-16) I can tell that the force of the sun's weight would be E-16 at this distance from a twin. Two copies of the sun placed 93 million miles apart would attract each other with that force.

Check: To check that the weight is E-16, square the mass (93E36^2) and divide by the square of the distance (93E44^2).
You get E72 divided by E88 which indeed is E-16.

In metric terms the Planck force unit is 12E43 Newtons, so the force E-16 is 12E27 Newtons. If you want a further check, calculate the sun's weight at this distance entirely in metric terms and it will come out to be 12E27 Newtons.
 
Sun's mass = 2e30 kg
Average distance = 1 AU = 1.496e11 meters

a = GM/r2
F = ma
go nuts.
 
Originally posted by marcus
At this distance from the sun, how much would a copy weigh?


In other words, with what force (in Newtons, or Planck units, or dynes, or tons---your choice) would a copy be attracted if it were at Earth's average distance?

How about this? The Earth's speed, in its roughly circular orbit, is 10^-4.

So raise that to the fourth-----10^-16


That 10^-16 is the sun's weight in Planck units (c=G=hbar=1)

Do you believe that gives the correct answer, and if so, why?

I sympathise with no one wanting to work the weight out in Newtons. It is easier to work out in Planck-----the force is in fact 10-16
the fourth power of the circ. orbit speed at that distance.

What's the moon's weight in its own surface gravity?
the speed of a skimming orbit is 5.6x10-6

(5.6 millionths of the speed of light, or 5.6 times a common
speed for sound at aircraft cruising altitudes)

Raising 5.6x10-6 to the fourth gives 10-22 which is the moon's weight in Planck

I also would not want to bother working it out in metric (you aren't the only one!) but the answer in metric is easy to give because Planck force is 12E43 Newtons so that the moon's weight, being E-22 of that, is evidently 12E21 Newtons.
 

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