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Re: [Phys-L] earth moon sun



Recall that the component of tidal stress associated with
the moon is about 2.15 times larger than the component
associated with the sun. For simplicity I'm talking about
the principal semidiurnal components, the only ones HS
students are likely to bother with.

The average density of the moon is about 3.3 g/cc, about
the same as the earth's crust. You can think of it as
basalt (3 g/cc) but 10% heavier than that, due to a small
percentage of heavier stuff like FeO.

Closed book question: What is the average density of the sun?

Hint: If you can't figure it out in your head, you're doing
it wrong.

Hint: Did I mention that I really like scaling laws?