[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] wrote:
>
> All of this is acting on a subatomic level as well. As
> forces of gravity
> bombard me from all directions (from distant stars as well as
> asteroids and
> planets), the "mass" of my matter -- my blood, bones, and
> tissues are tugged,
> pushed, and pulled in minuscule ways I cannot consciously
> recognize.
Bear in mind that gravity is by far the weakest of forces present in our
particular cosmos, and that its influence falls off inversely with the
square of the distance.
Meaning a passing car probably has more gravitational influence on you
than (say) Saturn... (brief pause while I type some constants into
Excel)... force of Saturn (roughly, since it varies with orbital
distance) on a 90kg Josh: 1.66e-6 N. Force of a 1000kg car 1m away from
a 90kg Josh: 6.01e-6 N.
Thus, if you're going to include distant planets in your swirling
maelstroms of gravitational voodoo, please take into account all nearby
objects as well.
Also remember that the force exerted by gravity on an object is directly
proportional to the mass of the object itself. So if Josh lost half his
mass the force would be halved. Continue splitting Josh until he's the
mass of a molecule and the force is incredibly small. At that level, the
electrical and magnetic fields we're all both exposed to and generating
overwhelm the gravitational field from anything other than a very nearby
planet (e.g. Earth).
And even then, electromagnetic fields generated by the molecules of our
bodies keep our brains from puddling in our shoes - fighting the mighty
tug of the Earth. :)
Joshua
References for constants and values:
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/facts/faq04.html
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html
