preview

The Gravitational Pull Of The Sun And Moon

Decent Essays

The constant pattern of rising and receding of the sea level is called the tide. But just what causes this?... Gravity, to be more specific the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon.

The best way to understand how the tides work is first acknowledging the relationship between the rotation of the earth with the Moon and Sun. As we know the Earth spins on an axis, the water on earth is kept at equal levels all around the planet by a combination of gravity pulling inward and centrifugal force pushing outward.

Just the Moon's gravitational forces alone are strong enough to interrupt this balance by speeding pushing the water towards the Moon. This makes the water to swell. As the Moon circles Earth and as our planet rotates, the swell also moves. The areas of the Earth where the swells occur have a high tide and the other areas will have a low tide. …show more content…

Here's an analogy: imagine yourself trying to swing a heavy object like a rock attached to a rope around your waist as you spin. You have to lean back to compensate, which in turn makes the center of mass between you and the object. gravity could be explained and an invisible rope that holds objects together, and centrifugal force is a boundary between to two objects. Because if the centrifugal force is stronger than the Moon's gravitational pull, ocean water on the other side of the Earth pulls

Get Access