“This is because the centrifugal force generated by the Earth’s rotation is counterbalanced by a portion of the gravitational pull caused by the gravitational force.” , deciphered by Thibaut Damour, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Institute of Higher Scientific Studies.

Indeed, the closer to the plane of rotation of our planet – the equator – the stronger the centrifugal force. This reduces the effect of the gravitational force a little. On the contrary, the centrifugal force at the poles is zero: so the effects of gravity are more significant there. “In addition, this centrifugal force formed the Earth as well This gives it the shape of a flat oval at the poles. Thus the equator is farther from the center of the Earth than the poles – by about 21 kilometers – and in fact the Earth’s gravity is a little weaker there. “So it would be more interesting to buy a kilogram of sugar in Senegal than in Greenland, laughs Jean-Louis Viniers, a geophysicist at the University of Lorraine. However, the difference in weight is still very small: only 0.2%.

According to Science & Vie No. 1252