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AGADOTTI
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I was trying this mental exercise and I need help and confirmations... so please launch your comments
Imagine (as an assumption) that the surface of the Earth is completely flat with no disturbances. A perfect sphere.
Imagine that is possible to build a solid ring made of a completely rigid material all around one meridian of the earth. The ring will have a perimeter a little longer of the Earth perimeter so that it hovers 1 meter over the surface of the earth.
Now assuming that it is possible to build the ring to be a completely rigid structure and because we build it to have it's center of gravity corresponding with the center of gravity of the earth, the following assumptions should be right:
1) The total weight (measured relatively to earth) of the ring is ZERO. The mass will be enormous, but of course if the weight is relative to the gravity, then for each point of the ring where a gravity vector is applied we will always have the opposite point with a completely opposite and equal vector is applied. The total weight should be therefore ZERO
2) In a stable configuration (i mean with no any other force in action) the ring will hover 1 meter over the Earth surface
3) If we apply a force on one side of the ring and imagine we move the ring half meter closer on that side, then ideally we are moving the center of gravity of the ring of the same half meter on the side. This will imply that after some oscillations the ring will come back to the original position hovering 1 meter over the earth
4) The configuration of hovering over the Earth is the configuration with the lowest potential energy
Is this correct or I'm losing something ?
Alex
Imagine (as an assumption) that the surface of the Earth is completely flat with no disturbances. A perfect sphere.
Imagine that is possible to build a solid ring made of a completely rigid material all around one meridian of the earth. The ring will have a perimeter a little longer of the Earth perimeter so that it hovers 1 meter over the surface of the earth.
Now assuming that it is possible to build the ring to be a completely rigid structure and because we build it to have it's center of gravity corresponding with the center of gravity of the earth, the following assumptions should be right:
1) The total weight (measured relatively to earth) of the ring is ZERO. The mass will be enormous, but of course if the weight is relative to the gravity, then for each point of the ring where a gravity vector is applied we will always have the opposite point with a completely opposite and equal vector is applied. The total weight should be therefore ZERO
2) In a stable configuration (i mean with no any other force in action) the ring will hover 1 meter over the Earth surface
3) If we apply a force on one side of the ring and imagine we move the ring half meter closer on that side, then ideally we are moving the center of gravity of the ring of the same half meter on the side. This will imply that after some oscillations the ring will come back to the original position hovering 1 meter over the earth
4) The configuration of hovering over the Earth is the configuration with the lowest potential energy
Is this correct or I'm losing something ?
Alex