2007-01-24 05:44:07 · 18 answers · asked by Hey Mister! 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
It's not spherical. It is a geoid.
2007-01-24 09:41:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is approximately spherical.
The reason is that gravity pulls all the materials towards one central point - the centre of the earth. If the earth was not spherical, the surface of the earth would feel a gravity that was not at right angles to the ground surface. In other words, I would feel as if the whole surface was sloping. But the material of which the surface is made is not string enough to sustain the magnitude of the slope that would be involved. If such a slope tried to form, the material would collapse. The only shape that does not have this collapsing feature is a sphere. which is why the earth is approximately spherical.
The approximately comes from the facts that (a) the earth spins, so the actual force felt by an object on the surface is not just due to gravity, but has a small component due to the spin and this component alters the analysis slightly, (b) the material of which the earth's surface is made does have some strength, which is why moderate slopes can exist - enough for mountaisn to form, and (c) there are small effects of the moon's gravity and also the sun's.
What a difficult question!
2007-01-24 08:23:17 · answer #2 · answered by Always Hopeful 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The physical world is 3-dimentional, and space surrounds objects on all sides. If you always held an object three inches away from another object, no matter where you moved it, you'll find that the path of the object your holding is a sphere.
The world is round because gravity is pulling in everything on Earth towards its center. When the gravity of something - like a planet - becomes so incredibly strong, the things covering it 'mush' together and attempt to get to the center of the planet, thus all layers of a planet are equi-distant. This creates a sphere.
2007-01-24 06:01:06 · answer #3 · answered by MannPower 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's the most likely shape to occur when an object is being formed whilst spinning.
It's also not entirely spherical. It bulges to make a squashed shape due to centrifugal force..
2007-01-24 09:15:34 · answer #4 · answered by mexican_seafooduk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-12-16 16:21:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi JL.
It isn't spherical.
The whole issue, as it rotates, bulges in the middle.
At the equator, you are spinning around at about 27,000 mph.
Relative to the middle..
At a pole, you are roughly spinning on your own axis.
It just looks like a ball, which is near enough for most purposes.
We therefore are not, as other planets, on a perfect sphere.
Norfolk is fairly flat, though.
Scotland has nice bumps to it.
So does Mars.
Bob.
2007-01-24 07:33:28 · answer #6 · answered by Bob the Boat 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever tried to apply a gravity field to a square planet? It took me three galaxies to figure that one out...
2007-01-24 06:29:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because of Gravity.
2007-01-24 06:59:47 · answer #8 · answered by CLIVE C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its the smallest shape for an object
look at water droplets in a vacuum
2007-01-24 05:48:20 · answer #9 · answered by q6656303 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because it slowly built up from centre outward, held together by gravity which is in the middle
2007-01-24 05:49:05 · answer #10 · answered by pj 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋