Astronauts float inside space station or do they really float? Actually astronauts do not float but fall around Earth all the time. The way they fall is known as free fall. Free fall is a state in which gravity becomes the only acceleration force acting on the body. In a free fall no other force such as air resistance, pushing, pulling is considered to be acting on the body.
Video Credits: Bryan Rolfe
Do you know? An astronaut on-board ISS still feels 90 percent of Earth’s gravity. A person on moon can still feel 17 percent of Earth’s gravitational force. Falling towards Earth with a parachute deployed cannot be called as free fall, as the aerodynamic drag force equals the gravity. Can you imagine what else is in free fall?
Moon is in a continuous state of free fall towards Earth, wonder how?. Earth’s gravitational force is the only force acting on moon, that satisfies one condition. But shouldn’t it hit the ground at some point?. This doesn’t happen due to two reasons, 1) Earth isn’t flat 2) Moon’s orbital velocity keeps it from hitting.
Video Credits: Science News
We are familiar with Galileo’s feather and stone experiment that they falling at same rate in the absence of air resistance. The same theory was practically demonstrated by astronaut David Scott on moon, by dropping a feather and a hammer. Both, hammer and feather fell at same rate. So remember the next time you see an astronaut on-board ISS, they aren’t really floating but falling.
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