can someone help with the question below, it really give me a hard time
"thought experiments" were to be conducted on moving trains or rocket ships. Answer following question:
1. What would the results of the free fall experimen be if you set the apparatus up and took data on a train moving at constant velocity?
2. What if the train were accelerating?
3. What would the results of this "thought experiments" be if you did this experiment repeatedly on a rocket ship traveling from earth to moon at constant velocity?
I'm no physics scholar, but I'll try... If the train were moving in a straight line at content speed there would be no effect at all on free fall acceleration. As for the rocket, if your in outerspace then there's no gravity to allow for free fall as we know it.
As for the train accelerating (on level ground) The rate of free fall would not change except it would fall diagonally & may even hit the back end of the train before the floor if the acceleration were too great
Sure, I can help you with those questions!
1. If you set up the free fall experiment on a train moving at constant velocity, the results would be the same as if you conducted the experiment on the ground. This is because in both cases, the object will experience the same gravitational force regardless of the train's motion. Therefore, the object would fall with the same acceleration due to gravity, and the results would be consistent.
2. Now, if the train were accelerating, the results of the free fall experiment would be different. When the train is accelerating, there would be additional forces acting on the object due to the train's motion. The object would experience both the gravitational force and the force from acceleration. Depending on the direction of acceleration, the object may appear to fall faster or slower compared to the experiment on the ground or on a train at constant velocity. The results would vary based on the magnitude and direction of the train's acceleration.
3. If you conducted the same thought experiment repeatedly on a rocket ship traveling from Earth to the Moon at a constant velocity, the results would be similar to conducting the experiment on the train moving at constant velocity. In this case, the rocket ship's constant velocity would not affect the object's free fall, as the gravitational force acting on the object remains the same during the journey. Therefore, the object would fall with the same acceleration due to gravity, and the results would be consistent throughout the journey.
In summary, the results of the free fall experiment would be similar whether conducted on a train at a constant velocity or on a rocket ship traveling from Earth to the Moon at a constant velocity. The results would only differ if the train or rocket ship is accelerating during the experiment.