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"Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth?" Fortunately, Americans are not stupid. They know that "A goes around B" and "B goes ar
by nmc 13y ago
"Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth?"
Fortunately, Americans are not stupid. They know that "A goes around B" and "B goes around A" are equivalent because there is no real Galilean reference frame.
The Earth goes around the sun from the Sun's perspective. Considering this is true means the Sun has a fixed position. This holds for the Solar System — by definition, the Sun is fixed at the center. Moreover, there is a lot of other stuff going around the Sun — while the Earth only has the Moon and a bunch of metal boxes.
Concerning the Universe, neither the Sun nor Earth are fixed. Depending on the reference frame, one is going around the other, and vice-versa. So both "true" and "false" are correct answers.
- DanBC 13y agoHow many of that quarter do you think have this kind of understanding of the question and answered the way they did? How many do you think have some other understanding of the question? ('The sun rises and sets, so it is the sun that is moving') (I'm avoiding the tedious hurr durr amuricuns is dumb stuff because the results for Europe are similar.)
- nmc 13y agoI totally agree with you; my comment was intended as a joke. I also wanted to point out that "not knowing about science" cannot be brought down to a handful of True/False questions.
- palmtree3000 13y agoI'm probably taking your comment far too seriously, but.... The Sun's reference frame is privileged compared to ours: it is far closer to being an inertial reference frame[0], deviating from wobble induced by Jupiter and its long orbit around the galactic core. (This is from a purely Newtonian perspective: both would be considered inertial in GR.) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_reference_frame https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_reference_frame
- nmc 13y agoI think you mean "both would not be considered inertial in GR". An inertial frame of reference suggests the existence of a homogeneous, isotropic region of space; in general relativity, gravitation shapes space and, since gravitation has infinite range, such a region does not exist. The closest relativistic thing would be a reference frame free-falling inside a gravitational field: it is locally inertial. So yes, the Sun is more inertial than Earth, but neither are a real inertial reference frame — because such a thing cannot exist. In Newtonian perspective, they can both be considered inertial — but you will also need to pick three stars far enough so they seem immobile.
- lutusp 13y ago> The Earth goes around the sun from the Sun's perspective. Let me put this one to rest. 1. The earth and sun mutually orbit their common center of mass. 2. That common center of mass is located within the sun. 3. Therefore, from any local perspective except the earth, it is more accurate to say that the earth orbits the sun than the reverse. > Concerning the Universe, neither the Sun nor Earth are fixed. Depending on the reference frame, one is going around the other, and vice-versa. So both "true" and "false" are correct answers. This is false. One is overwhelmingly to be preferred: the earth orbits the sun.