06-09-2006, 06:21 PM
Zack: In calculus, we use 1/0 = infinity all the time. It's one of the fundamental axioms which allow us to determine the limit of an equation.
Agamemnus: Gravity on any certain point will be equal to the summation of the product of each mass surrounding it divided by R^2, with a scaling factor thrown in there. This does mean that if you approximate the earth as a solid ball of matter, as you get further down into the earths crust, gravity will "reduce" because the opposing mass at the other side of the earth will decrease the effective gravity.
However, this isn't the end of the story. The force applied upon the center of the earth is equal to the sum of the force exerted upon the earth by the entire mass still affected by gravity. You can argue that the ground isn't affected by gravity, and I can then empirically prove you wrong by throwing dirt at you. The sum of all the force applied by all the different layers of the earth, with all their different gravitational constants, is then multiplied by the area of the core. With that completed, you'll immediately see that there are massive pressures at the center of the earth. Those pressures increase the melting temperature of any substances unlucky enough to be that far down, resulting in a solid core surrounded by superheated magma. As an aside, the high energy at the core MAY result in a point gravitational field because the amount of energy would raise the relativistic mass.
And if you don't understand, I recommend taking a physics class or at least reading a book. Glenn isn't the only person around here with university-level physics under his belt, and watching your weekend warrior attempts against people who are also applied or theoretical physicists is painful.
Agamemnus: Gravity on any certain point will be equal to the summation of the product of each mass surrounding it divided by R^2, with a scaling factor thrown in there. This does mean that if you approximate the earth as a solid ball of matter, as you get further down into the earths crust, gravity will "reduce" because the opposing mass at the other side of the earth will decrease the effective gravity.
However, this isn't the end of the story. The force applied upon the center of the earth is equal to the sum of the force exerted upon the earth by the entire mass still affected by gravity. You can argue that the ground isn't affected by gravity, and I can then empirically prove you wrong by throwing dirt at you. The sum of all the force applied by all the different layers of the earth, with all their different gravitational constants, is then multiplied by the area of the core. With that completed, you'll immediately see that there are massive pressures at the center of the earth. Those pressures increase the melting temperature of any substances unlucky enough to be that far down, resulting in a solid core surrounded by superheated magma. As an aside, the high energy at the core MAY result in a point gravitational field because the amount of energy would raise the relativistic mass.
And if you don't understand, I recommend taking a physics class or at least reading a book. Glenn isn't the only person around here with university-level physics under his belt, and watching your weekend warrior attempts against people who are also applied or theoretical physicists is painful.