Galileo drops a bowling ball, baseball, and crow's wing feather from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. ?

Filed under:hznp.com — mike @ October 13, 2008 edit

Galileo drops a bowling ball, baseball, and crow's wing feather from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. ?

Which objects hit first,second and third. Now see i thought that the heaviest object would hit first so i thought the order would be bowlingball,baseball and then the feather but i got the question wrong..so does any one know the order the objects would hit the ground. They hit at the same time. its the correct answer but not totally true if there was no air friction hey would hit at the same time, but were surrounded by air so you were technically right, but not theoretically.
  • bowling ball and base ball hit at the same time, as for the feather, I be live that still has another half minute or so to hit!
  • The bowling ball and baseball would hit together. The feather would be last because of the way it interacts with the air that produces resistance and slows it down.
  • well it doesn't matter what the weight is.
    the bowling ball and baseball would hit at the same time and the feather would come next
  • Assuming that nothing got in the way, all three would hit the ground at the same time because they are all being pulled by the same force (gravity). That is the correct answer but you could argue that the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn't in a vacuum and therefore the bowling ball and baseball would hit at the same time but the feather would be slowed down by wind currents.
  • Maybe it has something to do with the "leaning" of the tower. But actually, now I'm more curious about when bowling was invented.
  • wait a second: crow's wing or crow's feather?? let's assume that it is crow's feather

    it depends. if you drop them inside a vacuum tube, then three of them will hit the ground in the same time. because in vacuum, all objects will fall with equal acceleration, which is 9,8 m/s^2, regardless their mass. but, if you drop them outside vacuum tube, so all three of them experience air drag, your answer is correct. because in the heaviest object (bowling ball), air drag has negligible effect, whereas in the lightest object (crow's feather), air drag has huge effect. just drop a bowling ball and a feather from 1 meters height, you will see that bowling ball will travel straight to the ground, whereas feather will move about aimlessly before hit the ground. in this case, it is clear that feather needs longer time
  • They all hit at the same time. but this happens only if there is no difference in atmospheric pressure like wind. actually its not possible on earth. u have to create such an atmosphere
  • by the presents of air,feather,will hit the ground after the two,but if there is no air,the three will hit the ground,the same time,coz the fall of gravity is constant for any falling object,neglecting air friction
  • end