Jul 2 '21

Do heavy objects fall faster than light objects?

Objects meaning things that are not alive.

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John P. Rafferty

Encyclopedia Britannica Editor

Jul 8 '21

Italian natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician Galileo Galilei demonstrated, by dropping bodies of different weights from the top of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, that the speed of fall of a heavy object is not proportional to its weight, as Aristotle had claimed. Heavy objects and light objects will reach the ground at the same time, all things being equal.

However, all things are not usually equal. There are other forces which act on a falling object that have nothing to do with its mass. For example, an object’s shape can be important, especially if it enables the air to create drag. We know that a flat sheet of paper will take a longer time reaching the ground than a compact stone since it pushes through the air beneath it with greater difficulty.

Yet, when only gravitational force (gravity) and acceleration are taken into account, heavy things and light things are pulled toward the center of Earth at the same speed. Looking closer, we can determine that a heavy object has more gravitational force, but also less acceleration, and a lighter object has less gravitational force but greater acceleration. Gravity and acceleration tend to cancel each other out, so these objects still fall at the same rate.


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Jul 8 '21

no they dont even galieo galieo did a experiment about it they fall the same