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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
What else can I help you with?
In 1971 who dropped the hammer and feather on the moon to seen which would land first?
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.
What would happen to nickel if you hit it with a hammer?
If you hit nickel with a hammer, it would deform and flatten rather than shattering like glass or some other materials. Nickel is a ductile metal, so it has the ability to deform and change shape under pressure without breaking.
WHAT DO YOU use to measure the mass of a feather?
What unit of measurement would be used to measure the mass of a feather
What material is most likely to break if you strike it with a hammer sodium chloride or bronze?
Sodium chloride is more likely to break when struck with a hammer compared to bronze. Sodium chloride is a brittle compound, while bronze is a metal alloy known for its strength and durability. Striking sodium chloride with a hammer would likely cause it to shatter due to its brittle nature.
What would happen if francium ceased to exist?
If francium were to cease to exist, it would not have a significant impact on the environment or everyday life. Francium is a highly radioactive and unstable element that has no practical uses due to its scarcity and short half-life. Its absence would not disrupt any crucial biochemical processes or industrial applications.
What would happen if your in space with no atmosphere and you dropped a feather and a hammer?
They would both float if you had no gravity.
What would happen if you dropped a hammer and a feather here on earth?
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.
Which has more inertia hammer or feather?
A hammer would hit the ground first because a hammer is heavier
How do a feather and hammer hit the ground at the same time?
In a vacuum, where there is no air resistance, both a feather and a hammer would fall and hit the ground at the same time due to gravity affecting them equally. However, in the presence of air, the feather experiences more air resistance than the hammer, causing it to fall slower.
What would happen if someone droped an ice cube in a glass of water?
It would eventually melt, and somewhat cool the water.
Why does the feather and the hammer land at the same time on the moon and diffrent times on the earth?
Because the moon has essentially no atmosphere, there would be no drag on the feather when it falls. On earth, it would be quite a different matter. The significant surface area of the feather means that as it falls, the friction of the air on it provides significant opposing force to it as it falls. In the case of a falling hammer, the opposing force of air friction on the hammer is negligible compared to the force of gravity on it since the hammer is much heavier than the feather. Since there would be no drag on either item when dropped on the moon, the only force acting on either would be gravity and their acceleration would be only that of gravity with no opposing force to slow them down as they fell.
Why was the atomic bomb droped?
To put a quick end to the war with japan and to see what would happen in a wartime situation.
In 1971 who dropped the hammer and feather on the moon to seen which would land first?
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.
Where on earth can a hammer and feather drop at the same speed?
Inside a safe dropped from a plane.If there were a very good vacuum to drop them in, it would be close. The air resistance of a feather limits its falling velocity more than the resistance on the hammer. When the drag caused by friction equals the weight of the object, it cannot continue to accelerate and falls at a speed called its terminal velocity.
What hits the floor first when dropped at the same time hammer or feather and why?
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.
Would an object have the same density on the moon as it does on the earth?
Yes, it would have the same density. The volume of an object does not change no matter where it is. So on the moon the object would have the same mass and volume as it would on earth; therefore that object would have the same density. Density equals mass divided by volume.
If the gravitational force between the earth and object always causes the same acceleration why does a feather fall more slowly than a hammer does?
The feather falls more slowly than the hammer due to air resistance. The feather has a larger surface area-to-mass ratio, which causes more air resistance compared to the hammer, falling at a slower speed. Without air resistance, both objects would fall at the same rate due to experiencing the same gravitational force.
