Matter has the characteristic of gravity..... and when enough matter comes together in space it forms a sphere. That's because that shape is the most efficient in terms of surface area to volume. That shape allows the force of gravity to be distributed evenly throughout the total volume and creates an equal gravity field anywhere on its surface.
2007-06-16 08:17:44
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answer #1
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answered by Joline 6
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Has nothing to do with spin. Gravity tries to pull things down so that everything is "evenly distributed."
This effect is greater on large bodies than on small ones. If you have something that's just a few miles wide (like a small asteroid), then it can be shaped like a potato or a peanut, etc. Its gravity DOES try to pull the pointy ends closer to the middle to redistribute the mass evenly; but in something that small, the gravity is not strong enough to overcome the internal strength of the rock.
In larger objects (say 200 miles wide or more), the gravity is strong enough to pull the "pointy ends" closer to the middle, even if they're solid rock. So you get a complete absence of pointy bits--a sphere.
On earth, gravity puts a limit on how high a mountain can be. If you tried to build a mountain higher than a few miles, gravity would make it collapse under its own weight. So don't even think about building a huge "corner" on the earth to turn it into a cube. Gravity would make the corner collapse.
2007-06-15 07:52:12
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answer #2
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answered by RickB 7
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Planets and stars are (usually) in a spherical shape becuase they spin so fast that they create a sentriphical force, that makes them a shpere shape!
2007-06-15 07:33:05
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answer #3
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answered by alibee 2
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Because the main force that creates them; gravity; pulls them together into that shape. It wouldn't make sense for gravity to pull on things and arrange them into a square or pyramidal shape.
2007-06-15 07:32:57
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answer #4
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answered by Pfo 7
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Because a sphere is the only shape that is gravitationally stable for a large body.
2007-06-15 07:34:00
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answer #5
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answered by JLynes 5
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i would say that gravity is the culprit to make the sperical shapes commonplace.
2007-06-15 07:45:29
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answer #6
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answered by cadaholic 7
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because they were molten or plasma when they formed, densest thing head towards the center, which lines everthing else up
2007-06-15 07:37:57
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answer #7
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answered by Samantha 6
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because they spin around!
2007-06-15 07:35:39
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answer #8
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answered by Mustardseed 6
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