Freefall...

[turbodog]

Ran across this little posting while looking for something else. Has been bugging me so I decided to set the record straight.

An object in freefall is not weightless. It still has mass. And for the example listed... wind resistance is pretty well equal across the flashlight (a HDS in this example). However, mass matters. The denser end (say bezel) is less affected by air drag than the less dense end. The light would experience a torque, turn nose down, and land on the bezel.

The comparison w/ the video on the moon (which is cool) is apple/oranges to this particular flashlight example.

As the light is fairly dense we will neglect buoyancy.

 

[thermal guy]

A squirrel can survive terminal velocity from any height. A squirrel would need to fall approximately 4800 miles In order for it to die. This would provide the squirrel with the time needed in order to starve to death.😁

 

[hsa]

You are absolutely correct. I have seen it first hand many times.

 

[nbp]

How did you track the squirrel's progress over such a great distance?

 

[Olumin]

Squirrels used in standardized free-fall experiments are usually equipped with GPS trackers & black boxes for data recovery.
These experiments are sadly increasingly less common these days due to skyrocketing prices of miniature helmets with american flag designs.

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

Squirrels used in standardized free-fall experiments are usually equipped with GPS trackers & black boxes for data recovery.
These experiments are sadly increasingly less common these days due to skyrocketing prices of miniature helmets with american flag designs.

Well, that and the fact that Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale lost their funding from Fearless Leader, so were unable to continue making big trouble for moose n squirrel.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Have you all seen the feather and bowling ball fall at the same rate in a tall room with the air sucked out of it?

 

[bykfixer]

I like how if you toss a ball straight up in the air while walking it falls back down where you are not where you were when you tossed it in the air.

 

[idleprocess]

Have you all seen the feather and steel ball(?) fall at the same rate in a tall room with the air sucked out of it?

 

[KITROBASKIN]

 

[turbodog]

Have you all seen the feather and bowling ball fall at the same rate in a tall room with the air sucked out of it?

Yup. It's a cool video, but not applicable for the example cited. If it had been a question about free fall velocity in a vacuum, I never would have posted.

A good example to illustrate this is throwing 1) a normal ping pong ball as far as you can 2) throwing a ping pong ball filled with wax as far as you can.

Dimensions are the same, launch angle is the same, initial velocity is the same, wind resistance is the same, but density is not the same... and we intuitively know the outcome of the experiment.

It's a subtle error, but important.

 

[idleprocess]

A good example to illustrate this is throwing 1) a normal ping pong ball as far as you can 2) throwing a ping pong ball filled with wax as far as you can.

Sounds like an application of ballistic coefficient.

 

[thermal guy]

Ya but still, the squirrel thing? Kinda cool 😁

 

[turbodog]

So how about a ping pong ball filled with squirrels? Tiny ones.