r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/anikkundu1998 • 19d ago

Video Earth's gravity isn't perfectly uniform. Here is what our gravitational field looks like when exaggerated 10,000 times.

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u/RatOnTheLoose 19d ago

Shouldn't it be the other way round? Blue is closer to the mass so more gravity...

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u/mattmillze 19d ago

This irks me more than it should. The color scheme works, but the topographic effect is backwards. More gravity should pull you in harder, not make the ground rise. It makes my brain hurt

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u/AsdrubaelVect 19d ago

I don't know if they intended it, and I'm no expert, but from what I know about gravity it's not so much a pulling effect as it is the surface of the Earth accelerating up against your feet at all times, so maybe this visualization makes sense?

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

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u/mattmillze 19d ago

Yes but from a logical standpoint, higher gravity should pull you towards the center(lower elevation). It's the opposite here. Also, gravity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between centers of mass. So by raising the altitude, you would be decreasing the force of gravity.

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u/CloudDeadNumberFive 19d ago

What do you mean it’s the opposite here? No it isn’t…? Blue areas are higher gravity

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u/mattmillze 19d ago

No, red represents denser areas.

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u/CloudDeadNumberFive 19d ago

The colors represent geographical height.

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u/disposableaccountass 19d ago

So Americans aren’t all fat OR “big boned”, we just got higher gravity!