captcornwall Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 why is it said that gravity will only allow mountains to reach a certain height ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemur Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I've never heard that but I would guess that plate tectonic motion is driven by interaction between the plate's weight (distribution) and the shifting of magma underneath (these are just guesses - I haven't read much on plate tectonics). But since mountains are supposedly formed with plates collide, the force of the collisions would be logically limited by gravity, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMF Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 The ultimate theoretical height of a mountain depends upon its mass and constituents. If you had a pure lead mountain, it would sink if it got very big and this would be long before it was a very tall mountain. If you had a mountain of Styrofoam you might be able to climb it to reach orbital altitude if it was strong enough to bear its own weight. Where did you hear about the "certain Height" rule. SM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyMcC Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I believe it has been found that the smaller the force of gravity on a planet, the higher will be the mountains and the deeper will be the valleys. http://www.ph.bham.ac.uk/schools/mars.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captcornwall Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 The ultimate theoretical height of a mountain depends upon its mass and constituents. If you had a pure lead mountain, it would sink if it got very big and this would be long before it was a very tall mountain. If you had a mountain of Styrofoam you might be able to climb it to reach orbital altitude if it was strong enough to bear its own weight. Where did you hear about the "certain Height" rule. SM dr brian cox says gravity determines the size allowed to reach I've never heard that but I would guess that plate tectonic motion is driven by interaction between the plate's weight (distribution) and the shifting of magma underneath (these are just guesses - I haven't read much on plate tectonics). But since mountains are supposedly formed with plates collide, the force of the collisions would be logically limited by gravity, I think. what happens if mass is greater than gravity and the plates are stronger I believe it has been found that the smaller the force of gravity on a planet, the higher will be the mountains and the deeper will be the valleys. http://www.ph.bham.a...ools/mars.shtml why are the mountains on the moon restricted or are they formed from comets or asteroids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyMcC Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Moon "mountains" have been generally formed from asteroid impacts and are really the rims of craters. Even so they are much higher than mountains on earth which has a lot to do with the moon's low gravity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captcornwall Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Moon "mountains" have been generally formed from asteroid impacts and are really the rims of craters. Even so they are much higher than mountains on earth which has a lot to do with the moon's low gravity. is this due to speed of impact and volume of mass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now