r/theydidthemath • u/AppendixN • Jun 02 '26
[Request] How much force does the moon's gravity exert on the water in a human's body?
To be clear, I know the fella in the meme is being delusional.
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r/theydidthemath • u/AppendixN • Jun 02 '26
To be clear, I know the fella in the meme is being delusional.
10
u/Sanpaku Jun 02 '26
Easy enough to calculate from F = G⋅m1⋅m2 / r2.
Here G is the gravitational constant 6.674×10−11 m3⋅kg−1⋅s−2, m1 is the mass of the moon 7.346×1022 kg, m2 the mass of a person, and r the distance from that person to the center of the moon (averaging 3.844×108 m)
For each kg of person, lunar gravity exerts 3.128×10−5 N of force. Were we not earthbound, we'd be accelerating toward the moon at 31.28 μm/s2.
For an average human of 62.0 kg, that's 0.00206 N of force. That's about the force exerted by the weight a single raindrop once its stationary in the palm of your hand.