Article View: sci.physics
Article #7448Acceleration vs. Gravity
From: wasser
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1986 14:25
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1986 14:25
30 lines
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1746 bytes
> o Given the old "accellerating-elevator-in-space" experiment,
> how can one within the elevator tell the whether he is
> accelerating or under the influence of gravity?
Two ways to tell if your elevator is just sitting on a big mass:
1) The acceleration is stronger at the bottom of the
elevator because the bottom is closer to the center of
gravity.
2) Two plumb lines will converge slightly because both strings
point toward the center of gravity of the mass. The strings
would hang parallel under acceleration in space.
Warning: Experiment 2 can probably be fooled by appropriately
shaping the large mass.
-John A. Wasser
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P.S. Design of experiments to test for properties 1 and 2 are left as
an exercise for the reader!
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Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!mnetor!seismo!columbia!rutgers!husc6!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!mosaic.dec.com!wasser From: wasser@mosaic.dec.com.UUCP Newsgroups: sci.physics Subject: Acceleration vs. Gravity Message-ID: <6108@decwrl.DEC.COM> Date: Mon, 27-Oct-86 09:25:05 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.6108 Posted: Mon Oct 27 09:25:05 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 27-Oct-86 22:29:53 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.DEC.COM Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Lines: 30