Re: Moon's synchronism

[David Bowman <dbowman@tiger.gtc.georgetown.ky.us>]

In an attempt to sucker me into another rekindled tidal bulge discussion
Jim Green quoted me and asked:

> At 03:11 PM 3/17/98 EST, David wrote:
> > Once the moon's orientation relative to the earth
> > becomes somewhat rotated wrt its equilibrium orientation, the earth's
> > tidal interaction with the moon's quadrupole moment causes a restoring
> > torque on the moon tending to reorient the moon's prolate bulge back
> > toward the earth.  
> ....
> > the tidal kneading of the moon is as it rocks
> > in the earth's tidal gravitational field gradient.  I have no idea what
> > this Q value for the free rocking motion actually is though.)
>
> Deja vu: David, the Earth's simple ~spherical gravitational gradient is
> sufficient for this -- why are we involking the tides again?

Because the gravitational interaction of a mass distribution with an
external gravitational field gradient is what a tidal interaction *is*.

David Bowman
dbowman@gtc.georgetown.ky.us