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Can a body in free fall in equilibrium?

Updated: 8/11/2023
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15y ago

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Assuming that the question is "Can a body in free fall be in equilibrium?" A system (or body) is said to be in equilibrium if there is no net force and no net torque (turning effect produced by the forces). a net force means that no resulting force is acting on the object. The force of the body (according to Newton's second law of motion F=MA) is the product of the mass of the object and its acceleration. In this case, the object's acceleration would be the acceleration of free fall. Applying this in the context of this question: As soon as the fluid resistance (air resistance) is equal and opposite to the weight of the body (it's force according to the product of its mass and acceleration); the object has no resultant force. However, the body is still travelling towards the centre of the gravitational field (If it was a planet, it would be the centre of the planet) and as you travel towards the centre of the gravitational field, the acceleration due to free-fall increases according to the law of gravitation attraction. This would resultant in more force (and thus weight) and air resistance would have to be equal and opposite to result in no net force acting on the body. According to the law of gravitational attraction, the force (weight of an object) is governed by the product of the gravitational constant and the mass of the 2 objects involved and all this divided by the square of the distance between them. Applying this to the question, the body's force increases the closer it gets to the object it is going towards. So it may not be easily possible to achieve a zero net force in which the object does not accelerate. However, the other criteria for equilibrium is that there is no net torque (no resultant turning effect of the forces on the body). So long as the object does not rotate or turn then there is no resultant torque. In conclusion, a body in free fall can only be in free fall if it has no resultant force. No resultant force can only be achieved inside a fluid (something that flows like a gas or liquid) to stop the object from accelerating. If it is inside a fluid, fluid resistance will eventually equal the weight of the object and will result in no resultant force acting. However, in space (assuming that the gravitational attraction of the body that you are going towards is still acting), the body will not encounter fluid resistance so it will continue to speed up according to the acceleration of free-fall and it will have a resultant force. The other criteria for equilibrium is no resultant torque; so long as the object does not rotate, it has no resultant torque. So if the object is in space and still under the influence of the gravitational field the body is accelerating towards, it is not in equilibrium as it has a resultant force. But if it is inside a fluid and is encountering an equal but opposite force and results in a zero net force and zero net torque...it is in a state of equilibrium

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15y ago

yes. it will reach its maximum speed, which is known as it's 'terminal velocity'. at this point, it is no longer accelerating in a given direction, which is the definition of equilibrium. No,a body in free fall not always in equilibrium.A body said to be in equilibrium when it is in rest or moving with constant speed.In free fall body is accelerating with 9.8 m/s^2. so, it is not in equilibrium.

But,If the air resistance is equal to the gravitational force,then it moves with constant speed.Then only it said to be in equilibrium.

thank you for your time!

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Q: Can a body in free fall in equilibrium?
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