this post was submitted on 28 May 2024
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Science Memes

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Falling (mander.xyz)
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 25 points 6 months ago (2 children)

But they are being dropped at the same time for dramatic effect, so the earth will also be accelerating towards the feather at bowling ball speeds because the feather is next to the bowling ball, therefore they still land at the same time.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 6 months ago (2 children)

That’s only be true if the feather was in the same position as the ball. Otherwise, the earth is moving ever so slightly more towards the ball.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

You are forgetting the sun. The earth turns in the direction of sun ever so slightly so if you align the feather next to the ball in the side of the sun, then probably the feather falls faster

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

So, what you're saying is, to do this experiment correctly, we have to stop the earth from moving. . I'm keen.

[–] clickyello 4 points 6 months ago

🎵 I'll stop the world and melt with you 🎵

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

No, because the earth is accelerating towards the bowling ball and the feather is next to the bowling ball, the force vector is (ever so slightly) greater towards the bowling ball than the feather, thus the bowling ball drops faster

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Yeah I thought about it and I guess I'm wrong. I thought that maybe the ball still wouldn't be faster if there was a perfectly flat surface for both objects to land on, but I imagined how it would be if the bowling ball and feather were actually very far apart, and of course they wouldn't be travelling perpendicular to the platform, and the path of the feather would follow more of a curve. So a slight distance would be the same thing just less.