re: If the Sun and closest star were grapefruits they would be separated by the US

Can you elaborate?

quote:

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If you have a string 3 feet off the ground you can stretch it all the way around the equator.

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No

The question you're thinking of is if you have a string that will go all the way around the equator, how much longer would that string need to be to stretch the string a distance of 3 feet above the equator. It's not a physics question. It's a math question.

The string would only need to be about 18 feet longer because the delta of the radius is only 3 feet and thus the delta between the circumference is just 3 feet x 2pi.