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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
Note: This short review was given during the Symposium at the request of a number of participants to serve as an elementary introduction to the discussion of the results obtained from different Earth models. It was not prepared in advance and is not an original contribution.
The first approximation of the figure of a fluid planet is obtained by assuming hydrostatic equilibrium with respect to its gravitational self-attraction and the centrifugal force. When the speed of rotation is not too fast, the equipotential surfaces may be considered to an excellent approximation as ellipsoids of revolution. It is easy to show that these hydrostatic equipotential surfaces are surfaces of equal density (p).