Timeline for Don't heavier objects actually fall faster because they exert their own gravity?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
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| Dec 7, 2023 at 1:12 | review | Suggested edits | |||
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| May 11, 2011 at 18:30 | comment | added | ErikE | This i about BOTH the object accelerating and moving independently. No invalidating of Newton's law (chuckle). | |
| Feb 19, 2011 at 5:00 | comment | added | HAL | the acceleration of the book differs from the acceleration of the earth towards the book. seemingly just simply notes the availability of observation. I dont know if you are saying that the force law of gravity changes with a given mass. If you are invalidating Newton's law then perhaps. | |
| Feb 19, 2011 at 4:53 | comment | added | ErikE | What do you mean, "seems to accelerate?" it does, in fact. I doubt I can explain it at this point. Do you really think that if you had a moon-massed object the size of a basketball that it would only close with the Earth at 9.8 m/s/s? | |
| Feb 19, 2011 at 4:41 | comment | added | HAL | The same will apply to your "two mass". There is a force exerted on object one, there is a force exerted on object two. In fact, it is an action-reaction force. The book exerts a gravitational force on the earth, the earth exerts a gravitational force on the book. The book seems to be accelerating only because its mass (and inertia) is insignificant in comparison to the earth. Now, if the book had a mass of equal magnitude to the earth, the equal masses would demonstrate equal (in magnitude) and opposite acceleration. | |
| Feb 19, 2011 at 1:21 | comment | added | ErikE | Adding a third mass to the equation (the "second" object) changes things enough that the closing acceleration between the Earth and the objects will not be the same as either mass alone. | |
| Feb 19, 2011 at 1:19 | comment | added | ErikE | Halston, you performed a presto-change-o in the middle of your answer. You started out with accelerating one mass, but suddenly we're accelerating two. My point is that even with just dropping "one mass" there are really two masses involved, two separate accelerations, each imparted on one object by the other. You can't just cancel one out. The Earth imparts 9.80665 ms^2 of acceleration. But each object imparts its own acceleration on the Earth. Falling is not just acceleration of a single mass but the two toward each other. I think you have missed the point. | |
| S Feb 18, 2011 at 22:50 | history | answered | HAL | CC BY-SA 2.5 | |
| S Feb 18, 2011 at 22:50 | history | made wiki | Post Made Community Wiki |