May the Forces Be With You

Gravity and the Centrifugal Force

Notes

Here are some facts about the Mississippi – Wikipedia is a great help.

The average slope of the Mississippi, southward along the ellipsoidal shape of the Earth is about 0.0022%, so the average force southward along the surface of the Earth is about 22 millionths of a gee, enough to keep the water flowing.

How much of that force is due to gravity and how much to the centrifugal force?

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