Is gravity stronger at higher altitudes? Or is it equal throughout the earth's surface?

Question

Yes, I'm talking about on the surface of the earth, not in the atmosphere. In other words, would I weigh more at sea level than I would on a mountain top 14,000 feet above sea level.

Answer 1

it is weaker the higher you go

Answer 2

Gravity gets weaker as you get further and further away from the surface of the earth. However, for a planet of earth's size, the gravity is still very strong at high altitudes. If you've ever flown in an airplane, you would not notice the difference. However, if you flew far enough away in the space shuttle, you would eventually experience weightlessness.

There were a few comments about the atmosphere, but that actually has nothing to do with gravity. It is true that the atmosphere produces drag on a body, which slows it down as it falls. This reduces the speed of the object, but it does not reduce the gravitational force acting upon that object. It is a completely different effect.

Answer 3

The 1/R^2 law as explained should only apply if certain conditions exists -- 1) the density of the object is consistent throughout and 2) the object is perfectly round. Otherwise, the gravitational center of the earth is not the geometric center, which it isn t. Thus, if one is standing on top of a large mountain, there is significantly more mass between the observer and the geographical center of the earth. This would move the gravitational center closer to the observer, then depending on the various densities of the matter between the observer and the gravitational center, it seems to me that the total gravity on top of the mountain could exceed that of the total at sea level. Is there anyone out there who has the math chops to provide an example?

Answer 4

Gravity is the pull of one mass on the mass of another. Thus the weight of a person at sea level would be the same as that at elevations above sea level except for the effect of the density of the air which would be greater at sea level.

Answer 5

according to Newton's theory of gravity, the value of 'g' (gravitational attraction) is given by the equation g=G*M/(r+h)^2 where G is the universal gravitational constant,M is the mass of the planet in which g is being measured,r is the mean radius of the planet and h is the height above the planet's surface from which 'g' is being calculated.
therefore, at higher altitudes, h increases , and as a result the denominator of the R.H.S increases.therefore the expression:G*M/(r+h)^2 decreases and the value of 'g' will be lesser at greater heights.

Answer 6

The farther you are away from the center of gravity--the center of Earth in this case--the less is the force of gravity. The top of your head actually experiences less gravitational force than the bottom of your feet, unless you're standing on your head :)

You can figure out the force of gravity with this equation --

g = G * M / r^2

'g' = force of gravity (gravitational acceleration)
'G' = the gravitational constant (6.673^minus 11)
'M' = mass (Earth's mass is 5.87^24 kg)
'r' = distance from center of mass (Earth would be 6,378 km)

Do the math and at Earth's surface the gravitational force is about 9.8 meters per second per second

Answer 7

(Im assuming you are referring to the gravitational force between you and the earth)

Gravity is weaker at hgher altitudes. And thus, it is not equal throughout the Earths surface. Gravitational force is directly proportional(the proportion constant is the gravitational constant, G, which is suggested as about 6.6742 x10^-11 m3s-2kg-1) to the product of the masses of the two objects (you and the earth) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two centre of masses of the objects. Therefore, in an isolated system analysis, the further you move away from the earths centre (approximate centre of mass), the less gravitational force you experience from it.

(Just for fun: Note also the due to Newtons Third Law of Motion and the Law of Gravitation, you will never ever truly be weightless even beyond earth's atmospheric blanket. Hoever, you can experience "weightlessness" in free fall, where in isolated system analysis, the resultant force on your body is zero.)

Answer 8

For the most part, gravity is about the same everywhere on Earth. It only changed by tenths and hundredths of decimal places.

It's weaker at higher altitudes though, because there is a greater distance from the center of Earth, and gravity is related to the distance between two objects.

On average, it's about 32.2 ft/sec^2 or 9.8 m/sec^2.

Answer 9

At a latitude ‘L’ and height ‘h’ (measured in meters) above sea level, the acceleration due to gravity is given by the expression:

g = 9.80616 - 0.025928cos2L + 0.000069cos square 2L - 0.000003 h.

Using the above formula at equator and at sea level (L = 0), g = 9.78030 m/s^2.

14, 000 feet = 42672 m.

To find g we subtract 0.000003 h, i.e. 0.0128016 from 9.78030 m/s^2.

The ‘g’ at that mountain will be less than ‘g’ at sea level. Its value is 9.767484.

Answer 10

As you move to the center of the earth, the force of gravity increases. On a mountain, it'll be fractionally lower. Note Gravitational laws are very clear - the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the center of two masss. Hence, on earth, it will be highest at the poles, since the earth is flattened there, and lower on the equator, but the difference is fractional say about 9.81 to about 9.8 kgs/sq .m.

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Answer 11

gravity if you are inside earth gets stronger has you move closer to the surface outside it gets weaker by a factor of 1/R^2 not to much if you wanna enter in orbit throwing your self from Everest