The force of gravity, on the other hand, almost exactly balances this out, keeping the atmosphere bound to the earth and maintaining pressure differences with altitude.

Without the pressure gradient force, the atmosphere would collapse to a much thinner shell around the earth, and without the force of gravity, the pressure gradient force would diffuse the atmosphere into space, leaving earth with hardly any atmosphere.Hydrostatic equilibrium: If the highlighted volume of gas is not moving, the forces on it upwards must equal the forces downwards.

This balance is called hydrostatic equilibrium.

In astrophysics, in any given layer of a star, there is a balance between the thermal pressure (outward) and the weight of the material above pressing downward (inward).

For a volume of a fluid which is not in motion or is in a state of constant motion, There are 3 forces:The force downwards onto the top of the cuboid from the pressure, P, of the fluid above it is, from the definition of pressure,:By balancing these forces, the total force on the gas is:Note finally that this last equation can be derived by solving the three-dimensional Hydrostatic equilibrium is the reason stars don't implode, or explode. Additional recommended knowledge.

For a volume of a fluid which is not in motion or is in a state of constant motion, Newton's Laws state that it must have zero net force on it - the forces up must equal the forces down.

Since the terrestrial planets and dwarf planets (likewise the largest satellites like the Moon and Io) have rough surfaces and so are not perfectly in equilibrium this definition evidently has some flexibility, but as of yet a specific means of quantifying an object’s shape by this standard has not been announced.It is also important for the intracluster medium, where it restricts the amount of gas that can be present in the core of a cluster of galaxies.Hydrostatic equilibrium can explain why the Earth’s atmosphere does not collapse to a very thin layer on the ground. pressure gradient both act to push air.

Density changes with pressure, and gravity changes with height, so the equation would be: Hydrostatic equilibrium can explain why the Earth's atmosphere does not collapse to a very thin layer on the ground. We can split the gas into a large number of cuboid volume elements.

In a balloon, the gas inside the balloon pushes outward and the elastic material supplies just enough inward compression to balance the gas pressure. Finally, the weight of the volume element causes a force downwards. If we divide by A,Density changes with pressure, and gravity changes with height, so the equation would be:The hydrostatic equilibrium pertains to hydrostatics and the principles of equilibrium of fluids. According to the definition of planet adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, planets and dwarf planets are objects that have sufficient gravity to overcome their own rigidity and assume hydrostatic equilibrium.

In the atmosphere, the pressure of air decreases with increasing altitude. Hydrostatic equilibrium occurs when:? C) the force of gravity and the vertical.

PhysicsGuy.