if it is true, why?
2007-01-01 03:12:42 · 22 answers · asked by ponyboy 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It is true. The Moon has a iron core, as does the Earth. Iron is, of course, the third densest 'super'metal known to human kind. The gravitational force it exerts on the average human is enough to raise you approximately 0.01 mm above the ground (hence tides in the ocean; water is not as dense as a human and so is raised several centimetres above the seafloor under the influence of the moon). Because the body is slightly raise, the effect is to reduce its weight by around one quarter of an ounce. Try weighing yourself under a full moon (at night only, please). You will be surprised with the results.
2007-01-01 03:17:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 1⤋
Theoretically I believe that is true. Any two objects that have mass have a affinity for each other, like two magnets. That's why we weight anything at all. The earth is pulling on our mass i.e, we are one magnet and the earth is the other magnet. The only reason the moon doesn't go flying off out into the universe is that the earth is constantly pulling it back in. The moon is also pulling on the earth to a lesser degree. That is why there are tides. The moon is pulling on the water. I suppose when the tide is in the moon has it's greatest influence and is probably closest to the earth at that time. Since the moon doesn't really care what mass it is pulling on, it is pulling you up as well and consequently you weight less. Since your body is minuscule compared to the earth and it's oceans. your weight difference would be imposssible to measure with a bathroom scale. But theoretically you weight less.
2007-01-01 11:34:07 · answer #2 · answered by jer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is true but it is very minute. You also have to factor in the Suns gravitational pull. Both the Sun and Moon have a gravitational affect on Earth. The way we know this is by looking at ocean tides. The highest tides are when the Sun and Moon are above(from your point of view, basically just in line or one side of planet Earth) which creates the strongest gravitational pull. Though it is still much to weak for a human to actually notice being slightly lighter, but when this happens it does creates the highest possible tides on earth (not considering earthquakes/storms). Also the pull is so strong that the earth is noticeably not round, as it pulls on the oceans it causes a bubble affect. This also happens at other times, but is not as noticeable as when both the Sun and Moon are pulling together. The Sun and Moon tend to cancel each other out when they are on different sides of the Earth which creates the lowest tides you will see on earth. Though the Moons pull is still stronger then the suns and is normally the main factor in determining the tides. Hope this helps some, later...
2007-01-01 11:34:55 · answer #3 · answered by shawnhale04 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes because as others have said, the gravitational pull of the moon cancels out a bit of that of the earth. The effect is greater in daytime because then you also have the gravitational pull of the sun, as well as the moon, pulling upwards. The effect may not be noticeable to you but it is strong enough to cause the raising and lowering of the oceans, which we call tides. The tides in turn are slowing down the rotation of the earth through friction, so that the day length is getting longer and longer all the time as the earth slows down.
Also, accordng to Einstein's theory of special relativity, you weigh less when not moving than when moving, because mass increases with velocity. As velocity nears the speed of light, mass tends to infinity.
2007-01-02 11:37:47 · answer #4 · answered by Beng T 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is true. Your weight is measured by the force of the earth's gravity pulling on you. When the moon is directly above you, its gravity is trying to pull you towards it, so you have a little less weight on the earth.
The same thing goes for the sun! Ignoring the moon, during the day you'll weigh slightly less than you would at night, because the sun is trying to pull you away from the earth (because it's above you!) At night the sun is the other side of the earth from where you are, so you'll weigh slightly more.
2007-01-01 11:42:56 · answer #5 · answered by mybrownpolarbear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your mass stays exactly the same but to a pair of scales you would appear to weigh less. You would need a pretty powerfull set of scales to tell the different but the moon's gravitational pull will pull you alittle off the scales. Although at the same time it will pull the scales up against your feet, but it will also pull the scales off the floor slightly. Its confusing but yes a bit.
2007-01-01 11:41:58 · answer #6 · answered by ukcufs 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes,the same situation effects the ocean we have high tides.
The force of the moon"s gravity is vertical,
2007-01-02 09:42:38 · answer #7 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It might because when it is overhead it indicates that the point of gravity is at its strongest which might mean that the earths natural gravity field is increased above 9.81 which means if you weigh yourself, the scales will read more because the gravity is stronger and weight will increase with that as scales read in newtons and not mass, and weight is a variable that will increase with stronger gravity. =D
2007-01-01 11:19:02 · answer #8 · answered by bighairyrugbydude 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Must be, the moon pulls us up, the earth pulls us down.
Logically, we must weigh more when the moon is under our feet - over Australia.
2007-01-01 11:15:12 · answer #9 · answered by lulu 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I've considered this question before, and found the opposite to be true. However I did eat a 14" meat feast pizza on the night of the experiment...
2007-01-01 11:21:42 · answer #10 · answered by gareth_bancroft 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋