posted by [identity profile] mishamish.livejournal.com at 02:14pm on 2007-03-14
Uhm... seriously? How much of a difference IS there between latitudes?
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
posted by [personal profile] redbird at 01:20am on 2007-03-15
Not enough that you'd notice casually, but enough to be easily measurable. The polar radius of the Earth is about 20 miles greater than the equatorial diameter (since g=Gm1m2/d2, reducing d increases g), and centrifugal force reduces felt gravity, again moreso at the equator and diminishing toward the poles.

A google on "gravity latitude" produces, among other things, links to calculators to let you take this into account when reading a barometer, and the information that the definition of g (i.e. Earth's gravity) specifies sea level at 45° latitude.

Links

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