https://xkcd.com/2898

Alt text:

“Some people say light is waves, and some say it’s particles, so I bet light is some in-between thing that’s both wave and particle depending on how you look at it. Am I right?” “YES, BUT YOU SHOULDN’T BE!”

  • @V0lD
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    699 months ago

    No actually. Due to Jupiter, the centre of mass of the solar system is actually very slightly outside of the sun

    • @RememberTheApollo_
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      199 months ago

      Wouldn’t the center of mass constantly be shifting by the planets’ varying positions in orbit?

      • @starman2112
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        9 months ago

        Yes, but it’s mostly shifting because of Jupiter. It’s just so dang heavy. Like, a couple times heavier than every other planet put together. I don’t have the brain wattage to do the cool math right now, but a quick google search says that while the barycenter of the solar system does depend on all the planets, more often than not, it is outside the sun

        • @[email protected]
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          9 months ago

          Easy reminder:

          sun ~ 10^30 kg
          jupiter ~ 10^27 kg
          earth ~ 10^24 kg

          so the ratio is always 1000:1

    • @[email protected]
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      119 months ago

      So doesn’t that mean the earth and sun do not orbit a common center but a varying point based on mostly Jupiter?

      Centrists have bamboozled me again!

    • billwashere
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      89 months ago

      Cool. I learned something today

    • @niktemadur
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      9 months ago

      But I think the math of the argument is only about the common center between Earth and the sun, taking away all other planets out of the equation, especially Jupiter.