Why is it that the moon exerts a larger tidal force on the Earth than the Sun does, even though the Sun is so very much more massive than the Moon?
Why is it that the moon exerts a larger tidal force on the Earth than the Sun does, even though the Sun is so very much more massive than the Moon?
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Question
Why is it that the moon exerts a larger tidal force on the Earth than the Sun does, even though the Sun is so very much more massive than the Moon?
Expert Solution
Step 1 Concept and formula
The tidal force exerted on a body is given by:
where,
is the Gravitational constant,
is the mass of the body exerting the tidal force,
is the radius of the body experiencing the tidal force,
is the distance between the two bodies.
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