Gravity force on Earth

June 18, 2023
We have the Sun on the left
  • (It should be noted, however, that only one of these effects is due to an actual difference in the gravitational force between the equator and poles - the other effect is due to the fact that the Earth is spinning, which affects the weight you would see when you stepped on a scale but does not actually represent a change in the value of the gravitational force.)

    Second, gravity does indeed change with altitude. The gravitational force above the Earth's surface is proportional to 1/R2, where R is your distance from the center of the Earth. The radius of the Earth at the equator is 6, 378 kilometers, so let's say you were on a mountain at the equator that was 5 kilometers high (around 16, 400 feet). You would then be 6, 383 kilometers from the Earth's center, and the gravitational force would have decreased by a factor of (6, 378 / 6, 383)2 = 0.9984. So the difference is less than 0.2%.

    Finally, there are very small differences (on the order of 0.01% or less) in gravity due to differences in the local geology. For example, changes in the density of rock underneath you or the presence of mountains nearby can have a slight effect on the gravitational force.

Source: curious.astro.cornell.edu
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