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Fred
Fred
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The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experimentCavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

$$ F = {Gm_1m_2\over R^2} $$

where $m_1$ and $m_2$ are the masses of two objects, $R$ the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and $G$ the gravitational constant (approximately $6.674 \times 10^{-11} \mathrm{N~m^2~kg^{-2}}$).

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).

The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

$$ F = {Gm_1m_2\over R^2} $$

where $m_1$ and $m_2$ are the masses of two objects, $R$ the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and $G$ the gravitational constant (approximately $6.674 \times 10^{-11} \mathrm{N~m^2~kg^{-2}}$).

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).

The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

$$ F = {Gm_1m_2\over R^2} $$

where $m_1$ and $m_2$ are the masses of two objects, $R$ the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and $G$ the gravitational constant (approximately $6.674 \times 10^{-11} \mathrm{N~m^2~kg^{-2}}$).

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).

added mathjax markup, provided a value for G
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edit approved Apr 24, 2014 at 14:48
casey
edit approved Apr 24, 2014 at 14:48
casey
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The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

F=G*m1*m2/R^2

$$ F = {Gm_1m_2\over R^2} $$

where m1$m_1$ and m2$m_2$ are the masses of two objects, R^2$R$ the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and G$G$ the gravitational constant (approximately $6.674 \times 10^{-11} \mathrm{N~m^2~kg^{-2}}$).

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).

The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

F=G*m1*m2/R^2

where m1 and m2 are the masses of two objects, R^2 the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and G the gravitational constant.

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).

The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

$$ F = {Gm_1m_2\over R^2} $$

where $m_1$ and $m_2$ are the masses of two objects, $R$ the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and $G$ the gravitational constant (approximately $6.674 \times 10^{-11} \mathrm{N~m^2~kg^{-2}}$).

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).

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hugovdberg
hugovdberg
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The mass of the Earth can be determined by the so called Cavendish experiment. Henry Cavendish used an apparatus to determine the gravitational constant G which appears in the full equation for the gravitational force:

F=G*m1*m2/R^2

where m1 and m2 are the masses of two objects, R^2 the distance between the centers of gravity of the objects and G the gravitational constant.

As the diameter of the earth is known, as well as the gravitational constant, determining the gravitational force on an object with known mass gives us the mass of the object exerting that force (so the Earth).