Question

Two balls of different mass are simultaneously released in a vacuum in a spaceship which is subject to a
nstant acceleration in the upward direction. If the speed of the space ship is nearly equal to the speed of
sht as two balls are released from the same height, which one will hit the floor first?
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Answer 1

Answer:

1

Newton's law says that the force F⃗  exercing on an object produces an acceleration a⃗  such as :

F⃗ =mIa⃗  

where mi is the inertial mass of the object.

On the other side, in your experience, the force is the gravitationnal force (the weight) P⃗  which is

P⃗ =mGg⃗ , where mG is the gravitational mass, and g⃗  is the gravity acceleration.

The equivalence principle says that the inertial mass and the gravitational mass are equal, so mG=mI.

You have F⃗ =P⃗ , that is mGg⃗ =mIa⃗  

But mG=mI, so the acceleration is a⃗ =g⃗ , and this does not depends on the mass.

Explanation: