Answered Question

davepamn

M¢25 Funded By Mahalo ? | June 24, 2009 02:41 PM

How much of an affect does the Sun have on earth's tides?

M(sun) = 2 x 10^30 kilograms, Distance is 150 million kilometers

How much of an affect does the Sun have on earth's tides?

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mithrandir

June 24, 2009 02:43 PM

The moon, which is approximately 240,000 miles (386,240 km) from the earth, exerts a greater influence on the tides then does the sun, which sits 93 million miles (150 million km) from the earth. The strength of the sun's gravity is 179 times that of the moon's but the moon is responsible for 56% of the earth's tidal energy while the sun claims responsibility for a mere 44% (due to the moon's proximity but the sun's much larger size).
Source(s):
http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/tides.htm

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• Are your percentages based on Newtons of force?

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jupiter2

June 24, 2009 04:51 PM

Gravitational force falls off as (distance)^2 (From Newton's Law). Thus, even though the sun is much more massive than the moon, it's gravitational strength falls off as 1/(distance)^2 so it can still have a greater gravitational effect on the Earth than moon. Tidal forces however, fall off as 1/distance cubed--this means that distance plays a much larger role, and allows the moon to have a greater tidal force on the earth just because it is so much closer.
Source(s):
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=203986

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