Barycenter Memes

Posts tagged with Barycenter

Give Me A Cosmic Fulcrum And I Shall Move The Earth

Physics Astronomy Science Scientists

9 months ago 35.3K views 0 shares

Give Me A Cosmic Fulcrum And I Shall Move The Earth

This is what happens when physics nerds take Archimedes too literally! The meme combines Archimedes' famous quote about moving the Earth with a lever with actual gravitational physics. The diagram shows the Earth-Moon barycenter (the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system) which could theoretically serve as a fulcrum for an impossibly long lever. The formula in the title (F=G•M₁•M₂•R⁻²) is Newton's law of universal gravitation, which explains why this cosmic lever system would be governed by the gravitational attraction between the masses. Technically correct? Yes. Practically feasible? Not unless you're planning to violate several laws of physics before breakfast!

Having A Barycenter Gang

Astronomy Universe Physics

1 year ago 23.9K views 0 shares

Having A Barycenter Gang

The celestial size queens of our solar system! Earth and Pluto bonding over their disproportionately large satellite companions. While most planets have sensibly-sized moons, these two are practically in binary relationships. Earth's moon is about 1/4 its diameter (absolutely massive compared to most planet-moon ratios), while Pluto's Charon is so big that their barycenter—the point they orbit around—actually lies outside of Pluto itself. It's less "I have a moon" and more "we're cosmic dance partners with boundary issues." The rest of the planets are just watching like, "get a room already."