Tidal forces are gravitational forces exerted on different parts of a body by a second body. Their effects are particularly visi

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3 years ago

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Tidal forces are gravitational forces exerted on different parts of a body by a second body. Their effects are particularly visi

ble on the earth's surface in the form of tides. To understand the origin of tidal forces, consider the earth-moon system to consist of two spherical bodies, each with a spherical mass distribution. Let re be the radius of the earth, m be the mass of the moon, and G be the gravitational constant.
(a) Let r denote the distance between the center of the earth and the center of the moon. What is the magnitude of the acceleration ae of the earth due to the gravitational pull of the moon? Express your answer in terms of G, m, and r.
(b) Since the gravitational force between two bodies decreases with distance, the acceleration a_near experienced by a unit mass located at the point on the earth's surface closest to the moon is slightly different from the acceleration a_far experienced by a unit mass located at the point on the earth's surface farthest from the moon. Give a general expression for the quantity a_near - a_far. Express your answer in terms of G, m, r, and re.

Physics