Are you aware of the Spherical Shell Theorem?Watson768 said:Summary: Gravity on hollow spheres of different sizes, same mass but different thicknesses of shells.
Can anyone tell me if gravity is greatest for someone standing on the surface of a hollow small sphere or a hollow larger sphere when the spheres are of equivalent mass, and the thickness of the shell is greater on the smaller sphere than the larger sphere (in order to maintain equivalent mass). Thank you.
As long as it is a sphere and you are on or above the surface, gravity behaves as if all the mass is concentrated at the center. If the masses are the same, the only thing that matters is the distance from the center; the greater the distance, the less the force by the inverse-square law.Watson768 said:Can anyone tell me if gravity is greatest for someone standing on the surface of a hollow small sphere or a hollow larger sphere when the spheres are of equivalent mass, and the thickness of the shell is greater on the smaller sphere than the larger sphere (in order to maintain equivalent mass).
gleem said:Consider a solid sphere. The force at a distance from the center of the sphere is GmM/r2 where G is a constant m is the mass being acted on , M the mass of the sphere and r the distance from the center of the sphere to m.
For a hollow sphere you can show using above that the force at a distance r is GmM/r2 also for and thickness of the shell. So as long as the mass M is the same then you can conclude what?
Gravity on the surface of a hollow sphere is the force of attraction between the center of the sphere and any object placed on its surface.
Gravity on the surface of a hollow sphere is different from that of a solid sphere because the mass of the hollow sphere is concentrated at its center, while the mass of a solid sphere is distributed evenly throughout its volume.
The strength of gravity on the surface of a hollow sphere is affected by the mass of the sphere, the distance from the center of the sphere, and the mass of the object placed on the surface.
The thickness of a hollow sphere does not affect gravity on its surface, as long as the mass and radius of the sphere remain constant. However, a thicker sphere may have a greater mass, which would increase the strength of gravity on its surface.
No, the strength of gravity on the surface of a hollow sphere cannot be changed. It is a fundamental force of nature and is determined by the mass and distance between objects.