• missingno@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    72
    ·
    6 days ago

    When accounting for air resistance, heavy objects do fall faster than light ones. They couldn’t test in a vacuum back then, they only knew how things work here in Earth’s atmosphere.

    • Frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      36
      ·
      6 days ago

      A similar size chunk of iron and coal would have done the experiment just fine. Any two objects of the same shape and size but significantly different densities.

      • missingno@fedia.io
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        37
        ·
        6 days ago

        If two objects have the same size and shape, the force applied by air resistance will be the same. However, if two objects have different mass, that same force will result in different acceleration.

      • panda_abyss@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 days ago

        They could just drop an empty bs filled wine bottle.

        Maybe fill it with mercury (but don’t drink it)

    • waigl@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      6 days ago

      Nope, denser objects fall faster than less dense ones (through the air). Remember: A kilogram of feathers is just as heavy as a kilogram of lead.

      • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        6 days ago

        Nope, denser objects fall faster than less dense ones (through the air).

        Technically it’s objects with a higher mass-to-drag ratio, but most of the time it’s close enough

      • PastafARRian@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        5 days ago

        Not really true, it’s definitely possible for a less dense object to fall faster than a denser one. A drop of water will fall faster than a parachute made of nylon, which will fast much faster than a glider plane made of metal.