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Does higher gravity mean a thinner atmosphere?
Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 4:51 pm
by deleted-326128
Instance: Two planets of same mass, size/volume, and density/composition. One has twice the gravity of the other. Which planet would have the thinner atmosphere?
Re: Does higher gravity mean a thinner atmosphere?
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 12:20 am
by deleted-291782
Hi, and thanks for your question,
This is an interesting one, and I'm no physicist, but if the two planets have the same mass, then they should have the same force on each other due to gravity. This follows Newton's Gravitation Theory; see the Wikipedia link below for some more details:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity
The equation presented, which is F=G*m1*m2/r^2, states that the gravitational force on the objects is directly proportional to the masses of the objects being assessed. Assuming that the composition of the atmosphere surrounding each of these two planets is the same, I would venture a guess and say that they are both equally as dense (the atmospheres).
Hope that helped! Let us know if you have further questions.
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