Why are the planets and the world "round"?

Answer 1

It's just like watching a doughball form in a mixer. When things are spinnin around and clumping together they make ball shapes

Answer 2

Well, assuming the origin of the universe took place from the big bang, and all the stars and planets were created from this bang, the high energy that made the universe the explode, threw all these stars in to a spinning motion. As per geometry, the smallest area for the most efficent shape is SPHERE. Since all these planets etc are still spinnning from the energy that created bang, the cooling on the hot air/gases will result into sphere. Hence, all planets etc are round like a sphere (and not like pyramide or square)

Answer 3

Gravity makes the matter in a planet want to crowd together as close as possible. This gives a sphere, with the heaviest stuff at the center. The process of clumping together leaves this sphere spinning, so it bulges at the equator according to how fast it spins versus its gravity.
If the masses are small, so that gravity doesn't have much force compared to the strength of the material, the shapes are irregular, like asteroids and comet heads.

Isaac Newton used mathematics to express the laws that determine these relationships. Learning the math and visualizing the equations will help you understand what's going on much better than words can.

Answer 4

Not round but spherical. Wayne christiansen, a professor of astrophysics from North carolina University has said that the gravity from the centre of the planets are so powerful they suck inside the mass around them. Many of the planets have their cores as fluids, earth fluid iron core and for the sun its the gaseous core. If the planets were to be like a cube the corners would tower over the rest of the planet. in fact, planets are so large, nothing could keep the corners towering so high from the centre of the planet. Even if they are solid rock the gravity will pull them down.
There is one thing which defies this logic is that ceres the asteriod which is bigger than the planet pluto is in irregular shape, where as Pluto which is smaller than our moon is a near sphere.
Ref:www.redorbit.com
VR

Answer 5

The need to equalize the pressure inside the planet. A shape with corners, such as a cube, would allow forces to be concentrated at the corner, which would smash the corner flat, or else cause the area around the corner to expand. A sphere allows for an even pressure distribution.

The pressure on a planet is caused by its own weight pulling its own matter inward. A sphere allows for an even distribution of gravational 'pressure'.

In other words, a sphere resists being crushed better than any other shape, so objects under internal or external pressure tend to become round (irregardless of what is causing the pressure).

Answer 6

The rotation of the earth along with the gravity caused by it pulls everything towards the center of the earth, which after a long while made the earth round. All planets that rotate are generally round.

Answer 7

You'll notice that our sun, as well as all the planets are spherical in shape (oblate spheroid is true, but smoke when it comes to seeking an answer to your question). The reason for this shape is the heat energy within each heavenly body. Were any of the planets to have no heat energy, then they could be any geometric shape. They could become a cube, and they would remain that way, or they could become a flat disc-shaped object, and they would remain that way. This condition is seen in asteroids. They are apt to have any shape, but were enough heat energy to be imparted to them, they would soon assume the shape of a sphere.

The result of being sphere shaped is that this form of energy forms a gravitational field within a mass. Were a mass the size of our planet to have no heat energy within it, then it would have no gravitational field. Were our planet to have an increase of heat energy, then the gravitational field would also increase.

The truth of this concept is found in the physics trilogy which is:

E = mc2
m = E/c2
c2 = E/m. This last is for that of a gravitational field, or that of a field of physical time. There is a further explanation of this at http://timebones.blogspot.com

Answer 8

Gravity tends to round things. It isn't just the planets that are round. Almost everything on earth is rounded, animals, human beings, trees, the rolling action of the sea tends to round pebbles. Gravity presumably acts more evenly on rounded objects. I think that round is natures way, it is more efficient and is the optimal shape. And yet human beings seem obsessed with linear measurements, and linear thinking. I think that it has something to do with self awareness, and need to be juxtaposed to other things in nature. I also think that, it has something to do with the fact that we cannot measure the area of a circle exactly. And yet, with our own self created linear measurements, we don't have a problem. But that's only because we invented those shapes in the first place. Another example of our linear thinking is, the question, " What is beyond the end of space"? Again, linear thinking , but gravity bends everything, including light. So, anything fired in a straight line out to space would eventually arc round on itself. Einstein, had it right, when he said, "everything is relative to everything else". Anything measured in isolation, produces a meaningless answer.

Answer 9

they are round because that is the shape made when a large molten mass rotates at high speed...centripetal force is the action. Like children on a roundabout, the mass of material gets 'thrown' by the action to be counteracted by the internal gravity which, together with the viscosity- forms the relative shape and integrity of the whole thing.

Answer 10

the pull of a planets distributes its mass evenly, toward the center of gravity. All points on a sphere have the same distance from the center of gravity if there are no other forces acting on it.

Answer 11

The earth is eliptical (longer round the middle than over the top)