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What will strike the surface of the moon first a hammer or a feather?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Answer 1:
Both will strike at the same time. Gravity affects the descent of all things equally.
On Earth, it would be the hammer. But that's because the feather has properties that will make it waft up due to air currents.
There is no air on the moon.
Answer 2:
If a hammer and a feather are dropped simultaneously from a height on the moon they will hit the ground at the same instant.
Leonardo DaVinci did this experiment with different weight iron balls on Earth to prove that objects fall at the same rate. He dropped them of the leaning Tower of Pisa.
The reason a feather takes longer on Earth is because of the resistance of the air. In a vacuum everything falls at the same rate.
Answer 3:
"Both will hit the moon at the same time"
This may not be absolutely true since every object has its own gravity which is greater if its mass is greater. So the hammer has a gravity much greater than that of the feather. Therefore the combined gravity of the hammer and that of the moon (which pulls the hammer and moon towards each other) is greater than that of the feather and the moon.
As such the hammer should collide with the moon marginally earlier than that between the feather and the moon, though this difference is so minute that we assume that the collisions occur simultaneously.
However, if the hammer and feather are dropped together, then as the hammer's gravity pulls the moon towards itself, it also pull the moon towards the feather and as such the lucky feather may get a free ride and hits the moon at the same time as the hammer.
But even with this help, the feather will still take a slightly longer time to collide with the moon as the gravity from the hammer will cause the flight path of the feather to curve towards the hammer and as such takes a longer path and hence a longer time to hit the moon.
To be fair, the experiment should be done dropping the feather first, then the hammer and then see the different times taken.
All the above are valid only on the assumption that the centre of gravity is the part that hits the moon but since this is not true, we have to take into account the part of the hammer or feather which is nearest to the moon before the two objects were released !
So, the real answer is that there is not enough data for us to know which will hit the moon first !
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Both the hammer and the feather will hit the lunar surface simultaneously. In the absence of any atmosphere, there is no air resistance to slow down the feather. Therefore, in a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. This was famously demonstrated during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 by astronaut David Scott, who dropped a hammer and a feather on the moon's surface and observed them falling together.
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What would happen if you dropped a hammer and a feather here on earth?
The feather would reach the earth first dumb@$$
What was the first American probe to strike the Moon's surface?
Ranger 4 was the first American probe to strike the moon's surface.
If you dropped a hammer and a feather on the moon at the same time which would hit the ground first?
Since they are both headed toward the center of the moon at the same rate of acceleration they should hit the moons surface at the same moment. No air resistance to speak of allows this.
If a hammer and feather were dropped simultaneously from the same height on the asteroid Ceres which would hit the ground first?
They would hit the surface together, after a very long time. Gravity on Ceres is pretty light.
Why would a feather and hammer dropped at the same time on moon land together?
"Both will hit the moon at the same time?" Not Absolutely True.This may not be absolutely true since every object has its own gravity which is greater if its mass is greater. So the hammer has a gravity much greater than that of the feather. Therefore the combined gravity of the hammer and that of the moon (which pulls the hammer and moon towards each other) is greater than that of the feather and the moon.As such the hammer should collide with the moon marginally earlier than that between the feather and the moon, though this difference is so minute that we assume that the collisions occur simultaneously.However, if the hammer and feather are dropped together, then as the hammer's gravity pulls the moon towards itself, it also pull the moon towards the feather and as such the lucky feather may get a free ride and hits the moon at the same time as the hammer.But even with this help, the feather will still take a slightly longer time to collide with the moon as the gravity from the hammer will cause the flight path of the feather to curve towards the hammer and as such takes a longer path and hence a longer time to hit the moon.To be fair, the experiment should be done dropping the feather first, then the hammer and then see the different times taken.All the above are valid only on the assumption that the centre of gravity is the part that hits the moon but since this is not true, we also have to take into account which part of the hammer or feather is nearest to the moon before the two objects were released !So, the real answer is that there is not enough data for us to know which will hit the moon first !
Which has more inertia hammer or feather?
A hammer would hit the ground first because a hammer is heavier
What would happen if you dropped a hammer and a feather here on earth?
The feather would reach the earth first dumb@$$
What was the first American probe to strike the Moon's surface?
Ranger 4 was the first American probe to strike the moon's surface.
In 1971 who dropped the hammer and feather on the moon to seen which would land first?
Dave Scott.
If you dropped a hammer and a feather on the moon at the same time which would hit the ground first?
Since they are both headed toward the center of the moon at the same rate of acceleration they should hit the moons surface at the same moment. No air resistance to speak of allows this.
If a hammer and feather were dropped simultaneously from the same height on the asteroid Ceres which would hit the ground first?
They would hit the surface together, after a very long time. Gravity on Ceres is pretty light.
What landed first on the moon a hammer or feather?
"Both will hit the moon at the same time?"This may not be absolutely true since every object has its own gravity which is greater if its mass is greater. So the hammer has a gravity much greater than that of the feather. Therefore the combined gravity of the hammer and that of the moon (which pulls the hammer and moon towards each other) is greater than that of the feather and the moon.As such the hammer should collide with the moon marginally earlier than that between the feather and the moon, though this difference is so minute that we assume that the collisions occur simultaneously.However, if the hammer and feather are dropped together, then as the hammer's gravity pulls the moon towards itself, it also pull the moon towards the feather and as such the lucky feather may get a free ride and hits the moon at the same time as the hammer.But even with this help, the feather will still take a slightly longer time to collide with the moon as the gravity from the hammer will cause the flight path of the feather to curve towards the hammer and as such takes a longer path and hence a longer time to hit the moon.To be fair, the experiment should be done dropping the feather first, then the hammer and then see the different times taken.All the above are valid only on the assumption that the centre of gravity is the part that hits the moon but since this is not true, we have to take into account the part of the hammer or feather which is nearest to the moon before the two objects were released !So, the real answer is that there is not enough data for us to know which will hit the moon first !
Why would a feather and hammer dropped at the same time on moon land together?
"Both will hit the moon at the same time?" Not Absolutely True.This may not be absolutely true since every object has its own gravity which is greater if its mass is greater. So the hammer has a gravity much greater than that of the feather. Therefore the combined gravity of the hammer and that of the moon (which pulls the hammer and moon towards each other) is greater than that of the feather and the moon.As such the hammer should collide with the moon marginally earlier than that between the feather and the moon, though this difference is so minute that we assume that the collisions occur simultaneously.However, if the hammer and feather are dropped together, then as the hammer's gravity pulls the moon towards itself, it also pull the moon towards the feather and as such the lucky feather may get a free ride and hits the moon at the same time as the hammer.But even with this help, the feather will still take a slightly longer time to collide with the moon as the gravity from the hammer will cause the flight path of the feather to curve towards the hammer and as such takes a longer path and hence a longer time to hit the moon.To be fair, the experiment should be done dropping the feather first, then the hammer and then see the different times taken.All the above are valid only on the assumption that the centre of gravity is the part that hits the moon but since this is not true, we also have to take into account which part of the hammer or feather is nearest to the moon before the two objects were released !So, the real answer is that there is not enough data for us to know which will hit the moon first !
Do objects fall at the same rate on a planet with no atmosphere?
No, because there is no air to slow the down. For deeper analysis, check youtube, hammer and feather experiment on the moon. They hit the ground at the same time on the moon because there is no atmosphere, but if you drop a hammer and a feather on earth the hammer, obviously, hits first.
What would happen if you droped a hammer and a feather on the Moon?
What would happen if you dropped a hammer and a feather on the earth and on the moon? The above experiment is supposed to prove the equivalence principle which states that the acceleration an object feels due to gravity does not depend on its mass, density, composition, colour or shape.Answer:If you drop a hammer and a feather from the same height on earth, the hammer will hit the ground first as the feather is slowed down drastically by air resistance.But on the moon, because it is a vacuum, and since the acceleration of an object is the same as the gravity i.e. a = g and the mass is not in the equation, all objects will have the same acceleration and hence the hammer should fall to the surface of moon at the same time as the feather but:"Both will hit the moon at the same time as believed by most scientists?"This may not be absolutely true since every object has its own gravity which is greater if its mass is greater. So the hammer has a gravity much greater than that of the feather. Therefore the combined gravity of the hammer and that of the moon (which pulls the hammer and moon towards each other) is greater than that of the feather and the moon.As such the hammer should collide with the moon marginally earlier than that between the feather and the moon, though this difference is so minute that we assume that the collisions occur simultaneously.However, if the hammer and feather are dropped together, then as the hammer's gravity pulls the moon towards itself, it also pull the moon towards the feather and as such the lucky feather may get a free ride and hits the moon at the same time as the hammer.To be fair, the experiment should be done dropping the objects individually e.g. feather first, then the hammer and then see whether the times taken are the same or not.All the above are valid only on the assumption that the centre of gravity is the part that hits the moon but since this is not necessarily true, we also have to take into account which part of the hammer or feather is nearest to the moon before the two objects were released (assuming that the centre of gravity of both objects are at the same level on release) !The real answer is that there is not enough data for us to know which will hit the moon first !The famous experiment by Astronaut Dave Scott on the moon is not very precise.Dr HW Looi
How do gravity affect any pair of objects?
the object with the greater mass will fall to the ground first. if you think of a hammer and a feather the hammer will obviously fall first. unless your in a vacuum. then the objects fall at an equal rate!
Which astronaut dropped a hammer and falcon feather while on the moon?
Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott dropped the hammer and feather to show that since there is no air friction on the moon, and the acceleration of an object by gravity does not depend on the mass of the object.The above experiment is supposed to prove the equivalence principle which states that the acceleration an object feels due to gravity does not depend on its mass, density, composition, colour or shape."Both will hit the moon at the same time?"Answer:If you drop a hammer and a feather from the same height on earth, the hammer will hit the ground first as the feather is slowed down drastically by air resistance.But on the moon, because it is a vacuum, and since the acceleration of an object is the same as the gravity i.e. a = g and the mass is not in the equation, all objects will have the same acceleration and hence the hammer should fall to the surface of moon at the same time as the feather but:"Both will hit the moon at the same time as believed by most scientists?"This may not be absolutely true since every object has its own gravity which is greater if its mass is greater. So the hammer has a gravity much greater than that of the feather. Therefore the combined gravity of the hammer and that of the moon (which pulls the hammer and moon towards each other) is greater than that of the feather and the moon.As such the hammer should collide with the moon marginally earlier than that between the feather and the moon, though this difference is so minute that we assume that the collisions occur simultaneously.However, if the hammer and feather are dropped together, then as the hammer's gravity pulls the moon towards itself, it also pull the moon towards the feather and as such the lucky feather may get a free ride and hits the moon at the same time as the hammer.To be fair, the experiment should be done dropping the objects individually e.g. feather first, then the hammer and then see whether the times taken are the same or not.All the above are valid only on the assumption that the centre of gravity is the part that hits the moon but since this is not necessarily true, we also have to take into account which part of the hammer or feather is nearest to the moon before the two objects were released (assuming that the centre of gravity of both objects are at the same level on release) !The real answer is that there is not enough data for us to know which will hit the moon first !
