Abstract

It is generally accepted that the tidal force arises from an inverse cube law field. However, it is wrongly believed that this inverse cube law field is the product of differential gravity. The lunar and solar orbits are nearly circular, and as such, gravity cannot be a factor in the tides, because it will have been nullified by centrifugal force. We need to look to a non-convective pressure force which squeezes the planets at the sides, such that if the planets were to be made of pure liquid, they would be shaped like an ellipsoid aligned along the direction which joins the two mutually orbiting bodies.