Why is it when you are south of the equator it does not feel like you are upside down?

Question

I am at the South pole, how come it does not feel like I am standing on my head?

Gravity keeps me on the planet, that's a given.How does gravity make you feel like you are right side up, but from space you are actually upside down?

Answer 1

We get our sensation of "up" and "down" from the inner ear. The nerves are sensitive to the gravitational field. Gravity in not a "down" force - it is a force directed "inward" to the center of the object. In other words, gravity is a pull toward the middle of the Earth. It doesn't matter where you are on Earth, you will always feel pulled toward the center and the nerves of the inner ear will always sense that "down" is toward the center of the Earth under your feet.

Answer 2

There is no absolute "up" or "down" in the universe.
We just have a tendency to call "down" the direction of the ground and the gravitational pull we experience, and "up" the opposite direction.

Gravity pulls objects inwards towards the center of mass.
The Earth's center of mass is always beneath the ground, so no matter where you are standing on the Earth, gravity is always pulling you inwards towards the center of the sphere (Earth is almost a sphere, but not quite). That is why you don't feel upside down at the south pole and you don't fall off while standing on the equator.

In space, there is no up or down, it all feels the same.
When the space shuttle goes into space, the orbiter often times is "upside down" while in order, with the payload bay facing in towards the Earth, but this does effect the astronauts due to the microgravity environment, they don't feel it.

Answer 3

You're at the South Pole? Wow, it must be really cold there, and dark, since it's winter down there. I thought only scientists were allowed to stay down there during the winter....

Anyway....

*Gravity* is a force that draws you toward the center of the Earth, no matter where you are. If not, then only people at the North Pole would stand up straight, and people on the Equator would be sideways all the time.

Answer 4

The earth is a irregular sphere and like all objects with center of gravity, earth also has the same thing. During the orbit the earth it is tilted to its imaginery axis thus actually w/out gravity you ought to be tilted but not upside down. The center of gravity on the otherhand will take care of you my friend to stick to the ground as the ground level has more gravitational force of attraction than what you get in space!!!

Answer 5

The idea that north is up is just a map making convention, it has no physical reality. We could just as easily makes maps with south toward the top and globes on stands with the south pole at the top and it would be equally accurate. The only physical reality is that on the ground, down is toward the center of the Earth. In space the very idea of up or down has no meaning at all.

Answer 6

Earth's gravitational field is spherically symmetrical. At any point on the planet, it will pull you towards the center. If you happened to make it to the center, there would be no gravity (from the earth).
Of course you could always stand on your head at the South Pole and it wouldn't be any different, just colder.

Answer 7

Because you get orientation from the direction of gravity. If you are at the south pole, the force of gravity is still towards the center of the earth, so you will still feel like you are upright as long as your feet are on the earth.

Answer 8

From any point on the earth's surface, gravity pulls you toward the center. Your feet and legs resist this pull, and you consider that the ground is under you. But this is true anywhere, even at the south pole.

Answer 9

Because the center of the earth is always down. The south pole isn't "down", it's just south.

If your way of thinking was right, people in Mexico would have to worry about sliding off the edge. It just doesn't work that way.

Answer 10

Gravity, Newton.