3 ms·
> that does not mean that it is a priori logically impossible for heavier objects to fall faster than lighter objects Right, but if this were the case, a dumbb
by MockObject 6y ago
> that does not mean that it is a priori logically impossible for heavier objects to fall faster than lighter objects
Right, but if this were the case, a dumbbell would fall about twice as fast when its axis is perpendicular to the ground, than when it's parallel to the ground. Realizing this is not true from lived experience completes the thought experiment.
- tsimionescu 6y agoThe difference between the total force acting on the horizontal dumbbell and the total force acting on the vertical dumbbell is 2/(height-dumbbell_length)^2. Given that height should be measured from the center of the Earth, this is ~0 for any length of dumbbell you can conceivably imagine. So even if lighter objects fell more quickly than heavier objects, you wouldn't expect to see oriented dumbbells fall at different rates. However, what you could expect to see is that dumbbells with different weights for the two parts would never fall horizontally, they would tend to reorient vertically, with the heavier end first. Not sure how likely it would be to have noticed that this is not the case from lived experience.