- #1
rootone
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- 946
Is there an easy way to explain this to a 3 year old?
Do you also play with them by holding their hands and let them fly in circles? If so, then you have explained the centrifugal force. Together with the weight of the rock it becomes an equilibrium, same as your hands balance the centrifugal force by a pull. That's what I would try. Alternatively use one of this artificial funnels where you can roll a coin which in the end drops into the shaft in the middle: the coin would roll endlessly like the moon if there wasn't friction.rootone said:Is there an easy way to explain this to a 3 year old?
If I were the 3 year old in the cart, I would see the ball (Moon) fly through the air and eventually hit the floor (Earth) which is exactly what is not supposed to happen. I don't think a 3 year old is developed enough to appreciate the subtlety of the effect that you propose.fresh_42 said:Of course you can also tell right away the truth: The moon actually falls towards the earth, but he is so fast that he constantly miss it. I suggest a shopping cart and a ball to demonstrate the effect: place him / her in the cart, hand out the ball and let him / her throw the ball towards a certain object on a shelf while you are rushing the cart through the aisle.
Some 3 year olds are also surprisingly apt at these things and may unconsciously correct for relative motion.kuruman said:If I were the 3 year old in the cart, I would see the ball (Moon) fly through the air and eventually hit the floor (Earth) which is exactly what is not supposed to happen. I don't think a 3 year old is developed enough to appreciate the subtlety of the effect that you propose.
That is wrong and I think it is misleading at the same time.rootone said:but the Earth was moving away as fast as the Moon can fall.
In post #3 I suggested using a ball at the end of a string. Does a teddy bear work better?fbs7 said:Hmm... I'd revolve a teddy bear on a string, and say "see, the force of the string is making the bear fly in a circle!", then say "there's an invisible string attached to the moon called gravity, and that also makes the moon fly in a big circle!".
The moon does not fall down because of its constant motion and the gravitational pull between the moon and the Earth.
The moon stays in orbit due to its forward motion and the gravitational pull between it and the Earth. This creates a balance between the moon's inertia and the pull of gravity, keeping it in a stable orbit around the Earth.
Gravity is the force that keeps the moon in place in its orbit around the Earth. The gravitational pull between the two objects creates a centripetal force that keeps the moon moving in a circular path around the Earth.
The moon doesn't crash into the Earth because of its high angular momentum and the gravitational pull between the two objects. This creates a balance between the moon's inertia and the pull of gravity, preventing it from colliding with the Earth.
Yes, the moon's distance from the Earth does affect its orbit. The closer the moon is to the Earth, the stronger the gravitational pull between them, which can cause the moon to speed up or slow down in its orbit. However, the moon's distance is relatively stable, so its orbit remains consistent.