Walking on Water on the Moon?

IF THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LAKE ON THE MOON WE WOULD BE ABLE TO RUN ON ITS SURFACE. WHY?
- harsh (age 17)
mumbai.india

I don't think so. In equilibrium, we settle down to the point where the mass of water we displace equals our own mass. Even though there's less gravity on the moon, that means we'd float at the same depth.

Now some little insects can run on water even though in equilibrium they would sink. They use the surface tension of the water to stay up out of equilibrium. If gravity were very weak, then we could do something like that despite being massive and not having the right type of feet. The Moon's gravity just isn't that weak.

Mike W.

(published on 11/12/2014)