How much is the weight of the planet?

Have you ever wondered how much the Earth weighs? The answer, according to scientists, is: It depends on the force of gravity that pulls on our planet. This means that the question needs to be rephrased: What is the mass of the Earth?

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Earth mass

• Researchers have been searching for an answer to this question for centuries.
• This does not mean that the mass of our planet is a big mystery.
• Quite the opposite.
• According to NASA, there are approximately 6 sextillion tons, which is impossible to even imagine.
• The problem is that not all experts agree with the finding.
• The issue of discussion here is decimal numbers.
• But since it's impossible to measure the Earth's size, scientists have had to triangulate its mass using other measurable things.
• The information is from Live sciences.

Discussions about the gravitational constant

The first component was Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation. Everything that has mass also has gravitational force.

Newton's law of universal gravitation states that the gravitational force between two objects (F) can be determined by multiplying the masses of the two objects (m₁ and m₂), dividing by the distance between the centers of the two objects (r²), and multiplying that number by the gravitational constant (G), also known as the force The intrinsic gravity, or F=G((m₁*m₂)/r²).

Using this equation, scientists can theoretically measure the Earth's mass by measuring the force of the planet's gravity on an object on the Earth's surface. But there was a problem: no one could come up with a number for G.

In 1797, physicist Henry Cavendish began what became known as the Cavendish Experiments. Using an object called a torsion balance, which consists of two rotating rods with lead balls attached to them, the researcher found the amount of gravitational force between the two groups by measuring the angle in the rods, which changes as the smaller balls are attracted to them. the Rods. large.

Knowing the mass and distance between the balls, Cavendish calculated this g = 6.74×10^-11 M³⋅kg^–1⋅s^-2. The International Science Council Data Committee currently lists G as 6.67430 x 10^-11 M³⋅kg^–1⋅s^-2just a few decimal points from the original Cavendish number.

Since then, scientists have used G to calculate the Earth's mass using other objects of known mass and arrived at the number we know today. However, various calculations, even today, have shown slightly different results for G. So, the impasse persists.