Scott,
Thanks, once again, for a well thought-out viewpoint.
Dean,
Thanks for presenting the discussion and counter comments.
It's obvious to me that there are way too many factors involved here to be
able to pinpoint any direct cause and effect sources.
It's also difficult to distinguish between the concepts of mass, volume and
weight, and sometimes these terms are inaccurately interchanged in reference.
Volume does not dictate the mass of an object. Weight, as we know it, is an
earthly surface manifestation, which measurement is based on the
gravitational conditions which we experience hereon, regardless of the source
of that force.
It's the difference between a nerf ball, a basketball, and a bowling ball.
If the volume or surface of these items were the determining factor of their
influnce on other items then they would all have roughly the same influence.
But the factor of mass creates quite a different influence. Etcetera.
Is the moon hollow? Is the earth hollow? If so, then to what extent. If
either, then to what extent. If either is so, then what effect would that
have on all the calculations we can formulate in regards to mass, volume or
their mutual effects on one another. We may be able to cite a consistency in
our observations, and assign a value to it which would be compatible to those
observations, but the conclusion of that value could be totally incorrect if
the factors on which it were based were also incorrect.
Example:
Basketballs are larger than bowling balls, therefore, basketballs have more
influence on bowling pins than do bowling balls. (Yes, this is
oversiplifying, however...)
My point is this: What do the inconsistencies in the expected Earth/Moon
gravisphere relationship and the actual realized relationship tell us about
the masses of the two orbs? It tells us nothing more than the fact that
something is wrong with our factors. The initial math was correct. Only,
the results were wrong. The answer to the location of the Earth/Moon
gravisphere, we have, at least approximately. But that doesn't tell us what
the factors of the two masses are, or if those factors of mass are even
responsible for the gravitational results.
Yet we wobble on through our rotations and orbits of discovery. Who knows,
maybe we're getting ever closer to solving the puzzles in the process, even
though we might feel like we're just wobbling back and forth sometimes.
Norlan