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Do lighter people fall faster?

The answer to the question of whether lighter people fall faster is not as straightforward as it may seem. As famous physicist Galileo Galilei demonstrated in the 16th century, objects of different masses fall at the same rate in a vacuum, meaning that if you dropped a feather and a brick at the same time in a vacuum chamber, they would hit the floor at the exact same time.

However, in the real world, falling objects encounter air resistance, which affects how fast they fall. Air resistance is a force that opposes motion through air and increases with the speed of the object. Lighter objects tend to experience less air resistance than heavier objects due to their smaller surface area and slower speeds.

This can cause lighter objects to fall slower than heavier objects of the same shape and size.

Additionally, the impact of gravity also plays a role in the speed of falling objects. Near the surface of the Earth, gravity is constant at approximately 9.8 meters per second squared. This means that all objects, regardless of their mass, will accelerate downwards at the same rate due to the force of gravity.

While lighter people may experience less air resistance than heavier people, the impact of gravity remains constant for all objects near the Earth’s surface. Therefore, lighter people do not fall faster than heavier people. However, the shape and size of the objects, the density of the air, and any other external factors can all affect how fast an object falls.

Do heavier people fall faster than lighter people?

The answer to whether heavier people fall faster than lighter people is no. In fact, all objects, regardless of their weight, fall at the same acceleration rate in a vacuum on Earth, which is approximately 9.81 m/s². This is due to the gravitational force that pulls all objects towards the center of the Earth.

To understand this concept, we need to consider the formula for calculating the velocity of an object in free fall, which is given by V= gt, where V is the velocity, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s²), and t is the time of the fall. The mass of the object does not appear in this formula, which means that the weight of the object does not affect its acceleration or velocity during free fall.

However, in non-vacuum conditions such as air resistance, the weight or mass of an object can influence its velocity during free fall. Heavier objects have a greater surface area and hence more air resistance than lighter objects, causing them to fall slower than lighter objects. However, this difference is quite small and usually negligible in everyday observations.

Weight or mass does not have any significant impact on the acceleration or velocity of free-falling objects in a vacuum on Earth. Therefore, heavier people do not fall faster than lighter people.

Do you fall faster if you have more mass?

According to the laws of physics, the mass of an object does not affect the rate at which it falls or its acceleration due to gravity. The acceleration due to gravity is a constant and does not depend on the mass of the object.

In other words, if a heavy object and a light object are dropped from the same height, they will both fall at the same rate and hit the ground at the same time (assuming there is no air resistance). This phenomenon is known as the equivalence principle.

However, it is important to note that a heavier object will have a greater force of impact when it hits the ground compared to a lighter object. This is because the force of impact is directly proportional to the mass of the object and its velocity. Therefore, a heavier object will cause greater damage or make a louder noise upon impact, but it will not fall faster than a lighter object.

The mass of an object does not affect its rate of falling or acceleration due to gravity. However, it does affect the force of impact upon hitting the ground.

What falls faster a brick or a penny?

When dropped from the same height, a brick and a penny will both fall towards the ground with the acceleration of gravity, which is approximately 9.8 meters per second squared. However, due to differences in their size, weight, and shape, the rate at which these objects fall will not be the same.

A brick is a much larger and heavier object than a penny. It has more mass and more surface area, which creates a greater air resistance that slows down its fall. Therefore, a brick will fall at a slower rate than a penny.

On the other hand, a penny is much smaller and lighter than a brick. It has less mass and less surface area, which creates a smaller air resistance that allows it to fall faster. Therefore, a penny will fall at a faster rate than a brick.

However, it is important to note that the weight and size of an object do not determine the speed of its fall. The rate of acceleration due to gravity is the same for all objects, no matter their size or weight. The only factors that affect the speed of an object’s fall are air resistance and the height from which it is dropped.

Both the brick and the penny will fall towards the ground with the same acceleration due to gravity, but the penny will fall at a faster rate due to its smaller size and less air resistance.

Is it true the faster you go the heavier you get?

No, it is not true that the faster you go, the heavier you get. The concept of weight and its relation to speed or velocity is a commonly misunderstood concept due to certain factors such as the theory of relativity, the laws of motion and other physical phenomena.

Weight, in physics, refers to the force with which a body is attracted towards the center of the Earth or towards any other celestial body. It is determined by the gravitational field in which the body is located and is closely related to the mass of the object. Mass, on the other hand, is a measure of the amount of matter that an object contains and is independent of its location, speed or acceleration.

According to the theory of relativity, when an object is in motion with respect to an observer, its mass increases with the increase in its speed. This change in mass is known as relativistic mass or effective mass. However, this effect is observed only at speeds that are comparable to the speed of light, which is a very high value and is unlikely to be experienced by objects in our everyday lives.

In simpler terms, objects do not become heavier as they move faster. The increase in mass due to relativistic effects is insignificant at low speeds and becomes noticeable only at extremely high speeds close to the speed of light. Moreover, the increase in mass due to relativistic effects does not lead to any changes in the weight of the object as weight is a force that is dependent on gravity.

Therefore, it is safe to say that the concept that the faster you go, the heavier you get is a myth and not true. The mass of the object remains constant, and the weight is determined by the gravitational attraction between the object and the earth.

Which will hit the ground first a heavy or light object?

The concept of objects falling towards the ground involves the notable scientific principle of gravity. Gravity is the force of attraction that exists between any two objects with mass. When two objects are close to each other, they exert an attractive force on each other. It is what keeps our feet planted firmly on the ground and enables the moon to orbit the earth.

In terms of determining which object will hit the ground first, the mass of the object does not play a role in its rate of descent, but rather the gravitational pull towards the center of the earth.

Galileo Galilei, the Italian physicist, was the first to determine that objects of different masses would hit the ground at the same time in a vacuum. This is known as his Law of Falling Objects. In a vacuum, the resistance that air provides is absent, and all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass.

This is commonly demonstrated by dropping a feather and a coin in a tube with all of the air removed. Since air resistance is eliminated, the feather and coin fall at the same rate towards the bottom of the tube.

However, in the real world, air resistance does play a role in the rate of descent of objects. Air resistance is the frictional force that opposes the motion of an object as it moves through the air. Larger or more massive objects will encounter more air resistance compared to smaller or lighter objects.

This means that, in the real world, a lighter object will reach the ground after a heavier object.

Therefore, in a vacuum, both a heavy object and a light object will hit the ground at the same time. However, in the real world, the heavy one will hit the ground first due to the force of air resistance. It is essential to understand that this concept applies only if the objects are dropped from the same height and in the same environment without any external forces acting on them.

The weight of an object does not affect its rate of descent in a vacuum, but air resistance does play a role in the rate of descent in the real world. The heavier the object, the more air resistance it encounters, and therefore, it hits the ground first.

Does weight determine fall speed?

The answer to this question is both yes and no. Under normal circumstances, gravity exerts the same force on all objects regardless of their weight, which means that the fall speed of two objects of different weights, dropped from the same height and at the same time, will be the same. This principle is known as the Law of Equivalence of Inertial and Gravitational Mass and is a fundamental concept in physics.

However, other factors can come into play that can affect fall speed, such as air resistance or terminal velocity. Air resistance is the force that opposes the motion of an object through the air, and its effect becomes more pronounced as the speed of the object increases. The amount of air resistance an object experiences depends on factors such as its shape, size, and surface area.

For example, a heavy object with a large surface area, like a parachute or a sheet of paper, will experience more air resistance and fall more slowly than a small, dense object like a rock. In this case, weight would have an indirect effect on fall speed because the lighter object would experience less air resistance and fall more quickly.

Terminal velocity is another factor that can affect fall speed. This is the maximum speed at which an object falls when the force of air resistance is equal to the force of gravity pulling it down. Beyond this point, the object will no longer accelerate and will fall at a constant speed.

The terminal velocity of an object depends on factors such as its weight, size, and shape, as well as the density and viscosity of the air it is falling through. A heavier object will have a higher terminal velocity than a lighter object, all other factors being equal.

While weight alone does not determine fall speed, it can have an indirect effect on it through air resistance and terminal velocity. Other factors such as the height from which an object is dropped and the environment it is falling through also play a role. fall speed is determined by a complex interplay of physical forces and variables, and it is not as straightforward as simply looking at an object’s weight.

What is the weight limit for free fall?

The weight limit for free fall depends on several factors. First, it is important to understand what free fall means. Free fall occurs when an object is falling through the air without any acceleration due to a resistance force such as air resistance or a parachute. In other words, the only force acting on the object is gravity.

One factor that determines the weight limit for free fall is the altitude from which the object is falling. The higher the altitude, the longer the object has to gain speed and therefore the heavier the object can be before the force of air resistance becomes too great to allow free fall. At an altitude of 10,000 feet, for example, a human being can free fall at speeds of up to 120 mph.

If the person is wearing a wing suit or other specialized equipment, they can fall at even faster speeds.

Another factor that influences the weight limit for free fall is the shape and size of the object. Objects with large surface areas such as flat sheets or wide wings will experience more air resistance, slowing their descent and making free fall harder to achieve. Similarly, weight distribution can also impact the ability to free fall.

For example, a compact and dense object will fall faster than a large, lightweight object that is less dense.

The third factor that impacts the weight limit for free fall is air pressure. In regions of low air pressure or at high altitudes, objects will experience less air resistance and can therefore fall faster and with greater weight than in areas of high air pressure.

The weight limit for free fall is dependent on the altitude, shape and size of the object, and air pressure. It is difficult to provide a specific number for a weight limit in free fall, as it varies depending on these variables. However, in general, individuals or objects weighing more than a few hundred pounds are unlikely to achieve true free fall without assistance from technology such as a specially designed parachute or wing suit.

Resources

  1. Lighter person falls more quickly? : r/askscience – Reddit
  2. Why would a fat skydiver fall first in free fall?
  3. According to the laws of physics, heavier objects do fall faster …
  4. Do Heavier Objects Really Fall Faster? – WIRED
  5. Do heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects?