🪶 FREE FALL PHYSICS
PAGE 1 OF 5, THE EQUAL DROP
HAMMER VS FEATHER
WHAT IS FREE FALL?
Free fall means an object is moving under gravity alone, with no other forces like air resistance or a supporting hand. On Earth, a feather drifts while a hammer smacks the ground, so it looks as if heavy things fall faster. That difference is not gravity playing favorites. Air pushes up on the feather far more than on the compact hammer. Remove the air, and both objects accelerate at the same rate. In a vacuum, mass does not decide who wins the race to the floor. Gravity pulls harder on a heavier object, but that object also has more inertia, so the extra pull and the extra resistance to motion cancel out.
🪶 FREE FALL
Free fall is motion when gravity is the only force. In a vacuum, all objects fall with the same acceleration, no matter how heavy or light they are.
DROP!
WITH AIR
🪶 Feather floats and drifts slowly
🔨 Hammer hits the ground first
💨 Air resistance is the real difference
🔨 Hammer hits the ground first
💨 Air resistance is the real difference
NO AIR
🧪 Vacuum tube: both fall together
🌙 Moon has almost no air
⚖️ Mass no longer changes the race
🌙 Moon has almost no air
⚖️ Mass no longer changes the race