Mass of the Earth Traveling at 500,000 mph?

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The discussion centers around the hypothetical scenario of a planet with Earth's mass (5.9 sextillion tonnes) traveling at 500,000 mph. Participants clarify that at this speed, relativistic effects are negligible, as it is less than 1/1000th the speed of light. The conversation also explores the immense force required to stop such a planet, calculated to be approximately 10^29 Newtons, which is far beyond any material's strength. The nature of comic book physics is acknowledged, with participants debating the feasibility of such feats within the context of superhero narratives.

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  • #31
DaveC426913 said:
Doesn't the mass of two Earths create twice as strong an attraction as one Earth? Is that not why - when we measure the acceleration of things on Earth - we must drop a test object of negligible mass, so that its own gravity does not skew the measurement?
Force attracting two Earth masses with their centers 1 Earth radius apart ~ 6.673e-11 (6e24)^2/6378000^2 = ~5.9e25 N. Force needed to accelerate one Earth mass at 9.81 m/sec/sec ~ 6e24* 9.81 = 5.9e25 N.
 
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  • #32
Janus said:
Force attracting two Earth masses with their centers 1 Earth radius apart ~ 6.673e-11 (6e24)^2/6378000^2 = ~5.9e25 N. Force needed to accelerate one Earth mass at 9.81 m/sec/sec ~ 6e24* 9.81 = 5.9e25 N.
Two adjacent Earths with radius equal to one Earth radius will have their centers two Earth radii apart.

Agreed, though that the force is not doubled. Newton's third law still holds.
 
  • #33
jbriggs444 said:
Two adjacent Earths with radius equal to one Earth radius will have their centers two Earth radii apart.

Agreed, though that the force is not doubled. Newton's third law still holds.
I was considering a "Earth equivalent" mass being supported at the surface of the Earth, not two Earth-sized objects.
 
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