Recent content by fooly

Ah, so what you are saying is that the Centripetal Force does not reflect the force humans have towards Earth? If that is so, what causes the weight of a person to be lighter at the equator? Gravity at the equator is lower than elsewhere on Earth because of the Centripetal Acceleration, correct?

I understand that Normal Force is meant to equal the weight we feel, I just don't understand why. Mg is pushing you down and N is holding you up, right?

N - Mg = Mac = 0 N = Mg So at the poles you would feel your true weight. I'm just confused, if N = M(g-ac) at the equator, what does that mean? Doesn't that mean there is a weaker force balancing you with gravity? (so you would feel heavier, not lighter?)

I accept that the normal force would be less, but that is the force that points away from the ground. So your net force would be stronger than if you were at the poles. That's why I'm confused, if the force that is holding you up is weaker, wouldn't you feel heavier, not lighter?

Ok forgetting everything about how Earth is not a perfect sphere, the greatest centripetal acceleration is at the equator. So if you say N - Mg = -Mac, N should equal M(g-ac) which gives a weaker force than the gravitational force. If the net force is a force towards the center of earth...