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To: chilepepper
Heavier objects falling faster than lighter objects? I agree: if for no other reason, because the heavier object ATTRACTS the other body more, which will have a small but real velocity component up towards the falling object!

Your opinion was once universally held; but experimentation has shown that heavy and light objects fall at the same speed. Each falling object is not only attracted to the earth in proportion to its mass, but it [the falling object] also has inertia that resists the motion, so the falling object's mass cancels itself out. All that's left is the earth and the gravitational constant, which are the same for all falling objects.

59 posted on 01/18/2002 10:27:02 AM PST by PatrickHenry
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To: PatrickHenry
"Each falling object is not only attracted to the earth in proportion to its mass, but it [the falling object] also has inertia that resists the motion, so the falling object's mass cancels itself out."

You're using the "Gravity equals Inertia" argument?!

102 posted on 06/22/2005 3:27:41 PM PDT by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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