Are tidal forces real or apparent?
Are tidal forces gravitational forces?
On 17/11/2022 9:01 pm, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
Are tidal forces real or apparent?
That's the kind of question that can lead to fisticuffs in otherwise
polite physics circles.
They're as real as the gravitational force holding you down to the
ground, except that some would argue that there's no such thing as a gravitational force, and that what's happening is that you're being accelerated by the upwards force from the ground.
So to avoid physical violence in these situations, you need a very
precise definition of real versus apparent.
That said, tidal forces are not as unreal as the Coriolis force that
appears to be acting on a freely moving object when the observer is in a rotating frame.
On 17/11/2022 9:01 pm, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
[[Mod. note -- An additional point is that tidal forces can do work:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power
-- jt]]
Sysop: | Keyop |
---|---|
Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
Users: | 344 |
Nodes: | 16 (4 / 12) |
Uptime: | 29:33:29 |
Calls: | 7,518 |
Calls today: | 15 |
Files: | 12,713 |
Messages: | 5,642,042 |
Posted today: | 2 |