- #1
autodidude
- 333
- 0
If the world was frictionless, would the Earth orbit underneath your feet? Would buildings and things attached to the ground be slamming into you at the same speed as the Earth's rotation?
CWatters said:What happens when you step out onto the ice at an ice rink? Why?
autodidude said:You slide because of low friction...
voko said:If the world was frictionless, you would not be able to fix anything onto anything else, not even with slamming, because that also depends on friction.
russ_watters said:It really isn't answerable: what happens to an object on a frictionless surface depends on how it got there.
jtbell said:But not at anywhere near the Earth's rotational speed, right? And if you step onto the ice the right way, very very carefully, you don't slide.
does gravity have anything to do with centripetal force?
autodidude said:How's friction involved when you slam into something?
autodidude said:If the world was frictionless, would the Earth orbit underneath your feet? Would buildings and things attached to the ground be slamming into you at the same speed as the Earth's rotation?
autodidude said:If the world was frictionless, would the Earth orbit underneath your feet? Would buildings and things attached to the ground be slamming into you at the same speed as the Earth's rotation?
autodidude said:@CWatters: I just remembered some stuff with circular motion where there's a force directed towards the centre when i
voko said:Twice. First, you have to be attached to the surface of the Earth - rotating - before you can start slamming. Second, after you have managed to slam something into the Earth the only force holing the object slammed into the Earth would be friction. Absent that, the object will be pushed back to the surface by the centrifugal force.
autodidude said:@voko: What if the object was attached to the Earth? Would you just be pushed back?
jartsa said:Oh yes, when standing on the north pole, Bob should spin with the ball, there's no centrifugal force otherwise.
voko said:If there is no friction, why would he?
jartsa said:I don't know, but he can spin at any rate except at zero rate, and still be effected by centrifugal force.
This makes me feel that the story went quite seriuosly wrong though.
A frictionless world would have no surface resistance, meaning that there would be no forces acting against the Earth's rotation. This would cause the Earth to rotate at a constant speed without any changes or slowing down.
Yes, the Earth's day and night cycle would remain the same as it is currently. The rotation of the Earth on its axis is not affected by surface friction, so a frictionless world would not alter the length of a day or night.
A frictionless world would not have any effect on the Earth's climate. The Earth's rotation is not the main factor that influences its climate, rather it is the tilt of the Earth's axis and its orbit around the sun that determine the seasons and weather patterns.
No, the Earth's rotation is not directly related to gravity. The Earth's gravitational pull is primarily determined by its mass and distance from other objects, not its rotation.
A frictionless world would not have any significant impact on the Earth's magnetic field. The Earth's rotation does play a role in generating its magnetic field, but it is mainly influenced by the movement of molten iron in the Earth's core, which would not be affected by surface friction.