The Moon

[pixi]

If the moon really was made of green cheese and cost �1 per ton, how much would the moon be worth?  sorry folks all i really wanna know is does anyone know how much the moon weighs? thank you

[brachiopod]

About 7.354 x 10 �� Kg

That's 73,540,000,000,000,000,000 tonnes

However, since the moon is about the same age of the Earth, at around 4.6 Ga (that's 4.6 billion years or 4,600 million years), then it would be well past its sell-by date. That is why the cheese is green.

[Clanad]

The mass of the earth's moon is 7.35 x 10^22 kilograms, roughly...

[Clanad]

Where were you when I started brachiopod?

[brachiopod]

Mind you, the mass given is for a basaltic moon, which is about 2.8 times more dense than cheese.

So a cheese moon of the same dimensions would be only about 2.626 x 10�� Kg.

That said, you will still need a cheese wire at least 3,500 km long and a big roll of cling film.

[brachiopod]

Dunno, cross-post, Clanad !!

[sddsddean]

Not to mention several truck loads of Branston!! And what about the Jacobs? This is getting to be a real exercise in logistics!

[gen2]

The answer that brachiopod gives for the weight of the moon is only true if it was to be brought down to earth and weighed here. Assuming you has some scales big and strong enough.

The gravity at the moon's surface is only one sixth of the earth's gravity and if the moon was weighed there, it would only weigh one sixth as much as brachiopod says. Only trouble with that is that not all of the moon's mass is on its surface and its gravity will  decrease to zero at its core - and hence its weight will too.

If you were to take the moon to Jupiter and weigh it there, then it would weigh around 2.6 times as much as on earth.

[brachiopod]

Errr, gen2, ...no

Mass is an absolute term, irrespective of gravity.

The force exerted by a mass in a gravitational field is termed weight, and does vary with gravity.

I didn't mention anything about weight.

[gen2]

No brachiopod, but pixi did.

[gen2]

Brachiopod, I am fully aware of the difference between mass and gravity.  Pixi asked "Does anyone know how much the moon weighs"

Pixi would be forgiven for assuming that the moon weighs 73,540,000,000,000,000,000 tonnes according to your first answer.

[gen2]

CORRECTION: . . . between mass and weight

[brachiopod]

Eh?

What are you on about?

[gen2]

brachiopod,
Shouldn't we be trying to answer the question asked by the poster?  Pixi clearly asked for the weight of the moon, not its mass.  The answers that you and Clanad were giving were the MASS of the moon.  I was merely trying to tell pixi something about the WEIGHT of the moon, - as she requested.

[brachiopod]

Sorry, the 'eh?' was typed before your last two posts.

However, the moon still 'weighs' (the verb generally used state the mass of the subject) 7.354 x 10 �� kg, whether it's here on Earth, on Jupiter or Alpha Proxima.

[brachiopod]

Ok.....

Pixi, if you were to bring the Moon down to Earth to sell, it would have a 'weight' greater than 735,400,000,000,000,000,000,000 Newtons, since the extra mass of the Moon on the Earth would increase the force of gravity on Earth, and therefore it would 'weigh' a bit more than this figure.

I haven't got time to work the exact figure, as I have to pop down to Morrisons before it closes to buy approximately 5 newtons of Mature Cheddar for my supper.

[brachiopod]

I might even get 2.5 Newtons of olives from the Deli counter.......

[whiffey]

Thank you folks, you have restored my faith in intelligent humorous interaction. Post of the day for me.

[Peter Pedant]

Hi Pixi, well the boys are squabbling again, and I want to say that I think your question is REALLY sensible.

Do you realise that Newton delayed the publication of his theory (of whatever) for around 20 years because his estimate of the mass of the moon (or was it the earth) didnt tally with the forces and so on ? - so he couldnt get them to add up so to speak.

I agree that Newton did not use the words "green cheese", but that, Pixi, is not your fault.

[gen2]

Am I being cynical in thinking that pixi lost all interest in this thread once she returned to ChatterBank?  The analogy of a child poking a stick in a wasp's nest comes to mind.

[brachiopod]

Hmmmm....., you could be right, gen.

Pixi came in here before and expected test tubes, bubbling flasks and condensors, and men in white lab coats.....