The question is often posed to physics students who have always given answers under the assumption that Earth has uniform mass. But now, Alex Klotz, a McGill University grad student, has come up with a new calculation that challenges this concept.
His findings were published in the American Journal of Physics – a publication of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
Professor David Jackson of Dickinson College is the editor of the journal. He tells Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson why Klotz’s answer – the answer now accepted as right – is 38 minutes and 11 seconds, four minutes less than originally thought.
Guest
- David Jackson, associate professor of physics at Dickinson College.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxNzg0MDExMDEyMTYyMjc1MDE3NGVmMw004))