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 !
Astronaut David Scott dropped a feather and a hammer on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission. This was done to demonstrate Galileo's theory that objects of different masses fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
The hammer would fall faster than the feather due to gravity, regardless of air resistance. In the absence of air resistance, both would hit the ground at the same time in a vacuum, as demonstrated in a vacuum chamber experiment on the Moon by astronaut David Scott in 1971.
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 !
They would both float if you had no gravity.
"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 !
Astronaut David Scott dropped a feather and a hammer on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission. This was done to demonstrate Galileo's theory that objects of different masses fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
In 1971, astronaut David Scott dropped a hammer and a feather on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission to demonstrate Galileo's theory that objects of different mass would fall at the same rate in a vacuum. This experiment showed that in the absence of air resistance, the hammer and feather landed at the same time, supporting Galileo's prediction.
The hammer would fall faster than the feather due to gravity, regardless of air resistance. In the absence of air resistance, both would hit the ground at the same time in a vacuum, as demonstrated in a vacuum chamber experiment on the Moon by astronaut David Scott in 1971.
On the moon, both a hammer and a feather would fall at the same rate because there is no atmosphere to create air resistance. In a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. This was famously demonstrated by astronaut David Scott during the Apollo 15 mission.
Both the feather and the hammer will hit the ground at the same time when dropped from the same height in a vacuum. This is due to the principle of gravity, which accelerates all objects at the same rate regardless of their mass.
The hammer would hit the floor first because it is more dense than the feather. When objects are dropped in a vacuum where air resistance is eliminated, gravity pulls them down with the same acceleration regardless of their mass or density.
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 !
A hammer falls faster than a feather when dropped on Earth because of gravity. Gravity pulls objects with mass towards the Earth at a constant rate of acceleration, regardless of their size or shape. Since the feather has more surface area and air resistance, it falls slower than the hammer, which is more dense and streamlined.
They would both float if you had no gravity.
"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 !
A hammer would hit the ground first because a hammer is heavier
In simple theory any object will accelerate downwards at the same rate after being dropped. But, if you try it, the air gets in the way and stops a feather falling as fast as a hammer. On the Moon there is no air so everything falls at the same rate (which is 1/6 as fast as on the Earth.