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Interesting. The exaggeration of the rotatable globe is pretty weird looking. It might be worth noting that the actual measurements are at very small scales (mGal). These gravitational variations are important tools, but are not always apparent to us in our usual everyday lives wherever we are or wherever we go on the planet. In other words, you're not going to feel the gravitational differences.
Extrapolating from this, I draw the conclusion that the "heavy metal" interior of the Earth is basically an irregular shape (somewhat like Phobos or Deimos), but covered with a more fluid coating of lighter granules, which could shift and drift and form into a nearly spherical shape. Did get that right?
Interesting. The exaggeration of the rotatable globe is pretty weird looking. It might be worth noting that the actual measurements are at very small scales (mGal). These gravitational variations are important tools, but are not always apparent to us in our usual everyday lives wherever we are or wherever we go on the planet. In other words, you're not going to feel the gravitational differences. ...
You as a human may not feel any differences.
However it does shift the Local Vertical. Out to sea the local vertical very rarely points toward the planet's center. Which causes the local horizon to be out-of-phase with the idea of a geodetic spheroid.
This is one of the primary reasons why navigating using GPS [which assumes a perfect spheroid] has the appearance of being in error when plotted onto local terrestrial cartography. There are local corrections required in each plotted location as a cheat to make the two agree.
These shifts in Local Vertical [recorded as North-South Vertical Deflection vectors and East-West Vertical Deflection vectors] are big enough that accelerometers pick them up and measure them. Such is used to help subs navigate.
The physics, the math formulas, and the equipment to navigate using this were developed with joint cooperation between the Silent Service and NASA; with the intent of being able to use to assist in navigating between stars.
Am I correct in thinking that gravity is the weight of the universe PUSHING down on us, and not the Earth PULLING us down? Why do they teach children that gravity pulls us downward?
Every mass has some level of force pulling it closer to every other mass.
The bigger a clump of mass is, or the higher it's density, means that it will have a bigger level of force pulling.
A low density mass will have less pull then a high density mass [of approx the same size].
Earth as an entire unit has force pulling toward it's center. But different areas of Earth have different densities. The higher density areas have greater pull.
Our moon has gravity, though less then Earth's. Because our moon is smaller and of less density than Earth is.
With Earth the greatest densities of mass are not located at Earth's center, but rather scattered in or near the crust.
Every body in the Heavens exerts a pull, which should be detectable everywhere.
Each of our fellow planets exerts a pull on Earth.
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