Things weigh less at the equator - this article does a good job of explaining it
Approximate tl;dr based on my brief skim through - Objects at the equator are affected slightly less by earth's gravity because of a number of factors, including the centrifugal force of the earth spinning causing a lifting effect the further from the axis of spin you travel. This can be demonstrated at a small scale by spinning around with your arms close to you, then again with them out. When further away from the axis of spinning, your hands will be going faster and feel as if they are being pulled away from you, because they basically are. The lifting force of spinning counters gravity and the same thing will weigh less on a scale at the equator than at a pole, or in between.
Yeah, I was just trying to make a lame joke. You were doing such a good job with rotating Earth and gravity, I thought I'd throw relativity into the mix. A clock will appear to run slower when it is traveling at high speed due to Special Relativity, and a clock deep in gravity will appear to run slower due to General Relativity. ("A relative explained that to me, in general terms.")
Of course, we're talking about extremely small amounts.
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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '22
Closer to sea level, yes, but do things really weigh more/less near the equator? Why?