[an0n]

If you had two blocks, identical in all dimensions but with one weighing 300kg and the other 3kg, the heavier block would fall faster.

The reason being that gravity is proportional to mass, so the gravitational field of the heavier block would be greater - and when combined with the pull of the Earth the overall downwards force would be greater than that between the Earth and the lighter block.

So all that crap about feathers and hammers is bull****.

I rest my mother****ing case.

[Kazan]

wrong - they fall at the same rate, in a vacuum

the only thing that causes objects to fall at different speeds in an atomsphere is drag

[an0n]

With all things being relative, the combined gravitational pull between the Earth+H would be higher than Earth+L, thus it'd fall faster.

[Rictor]

If the blocks are the same dimension and different only in mass/density, they fall at the same speed.

I don't remember the physics equation, probably Kaz can help out in that respect, but they certainly do fall the same.

[Knight Templar]

Negligibly.

[Kazan]

technicallly yes, pratically no

unless one of the masses is a significant fraction of the planetary mass the difference in acceleration won't even be noticable

[an0n]

And?

I wasn't concerned with degree, just that there was a difference.

[Knight Templar]

Well, duh. You kind of learn that your first week in any compotent physics class.

[Kazan]

the difference is SO slight, that the only way you could describe it is arbitrarily close to 0

[Rictor]

When you're talking about anything less than like, the moon, the gravity attraction is so small as to be negligible. Two objects of any reasonable size would fall at the same speed, or close enough for us to round it off.

[Bobboau]

force = mass X acceleration

gravitational force is
G*(Mass(a) * mass(b))/distance_from_centers

as you can see the force of gravity is proportional to the mass of the objects in question. and acceleration is force/mass, therefore acceleration is constant for all objects

there isn't a degree (as far as anyone has ever been able to tell) it is zero.

[Kazan]

oh yeah!

sorry, im tired, bobbau is completely corect

[Bobboau]

I had better be, I'm takeing a test on this crap in like a week

[an0n]

The only way they'd fall at the same rate is if they were in exactly the same place and acting as a single body.

[Rictor]

So like, if the small guy grabbed hold on the big fat sumo wrestler to cushion his fall?

[Kazan]

nono an0n -- bobboau is correct, i could pick up my physics text and confirm that, and cite exactly from the pages

but im playing everquest

[Mr. Vega]

You're forgetting about inertia. Yes, the gravitational force acting on one block is 100 times that of the other, but its resistance to motion is also 100 times greater.

[Bobboau]

Originally posted by an0n
The only way they'd fall at the same rate is if they were in exactly the same place and acting as a single body.

I thought that was a given, if you drop the objects from diferent places there would be an infinitely small diference.

and also I was assumeing ridged body, as they are in block form and distortions from normal gravity would be nulled out by the nuclear forces holding the object together, gravity will act on each particle useing the above formula, each particle will fall at the same speed relitive to each other, the atoms closer to the earth would have an infinitely smaller amount of force than the ones away from it, but they would balence out to be equal as if gravity was acting on the sum of the particles mass on there center of mass of the particles. and sence you stated that they had identical shapes (though I am assumeing a uniform dencity) the centers of mass of the two objects would fall at the exact same speeds assumeing they were being droped on a planet like surface (ie not into a black hole) from the exact same place.

[an0n]

Doesn't that mean everything always falls at 9.8m/s^2?

[Bobboau]

nope