Schwarzschild Radius

[tom33pr]

Hi,

Theoretically in order for the Earth to become a black hole it would have to be squeezed into an object of a size of a peanut.

I know we can calculate this using Schwarzschild's formula:

Rs = 2GM/c2

where G stands for the gravitational constant and M for the mass of the object.

And here's a silly question: what is exactly the gravitational constant?

The more I read on it the more confused I get.

Thanks.

[brianb]

what is exactly the gravitational constant?

The gravitational force between two objects is equal to G. M1. M2 / R^2 where G is the gravitational constant: in SI units its value is 6.67428 x 10^-11 & the dimensions are Newtons x (m/Kg)^2 or equivalently m^3 Kg^-1 s^-2