![]() ![]() This is analogous to the circumstance we find in the space station. It is clear that although gravity continues to act, objects in the cart experience a state of weightlessness due to their trajectory. In fact, we could release something from our hands and it would appear to float in midair, neither moving upward or downward from our perspective. Objects in the cart do not experience this force, and thus are left in free-fall until they collide with the safety belt/harness. The shape of the track imposes a trajectory on the cart, and accelerates it downward. The reason this happens is that when the track curves around (from uphill to downhill), the coaster cart (and everything in it) still has its original upward velocity. If we sit in a car on Earth's surface, it is clear that gravity is acting.ĭespite this, we know the familiar feeling of weightlessness when sitting in a car or a roller coaster that goes quickly over the crest of a hill. To see how both things can be true, let's bring the question back down to Earth. ![]() These factors vary and include things such as centrifugal force at the surface from the Earth's rotation and the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun.In fact, the force of gravity does act on objects in the ISS although they appear to float freely, as they would in deep space in the complete absence of gravity. Effective gravity includes other factors that affect the net force. The net force (or corresponding net acceleration) as measured by a scale and plumb bob is called "effective gravity" or "apparent gravity". ![]() There are consequently slight deviations in both the magnitude and direction of gravity across its surface. The Earth is not a perfect sphere, but is slightly flatter at the poles while bulging at the Equator: an oblate spheroid. Variation in gravity and apparent gravityĪ perfect sphere of uniform density, or whose density varies solely with distance from the centre (spherical symmetry), would produce a gravitational field of uniform magnitude at all points on its surface, always pointing directly towards the sphere's centre. This quantity is denoted variously as gn, ge (though this sometimes means the normal equatorial value on Earth, 9.78033 m/s2), g0, gee, or simply g (which is also used for the variable local value). The nominal "average" value at the Earth's surface, known as standard gravity is, by definition, 9.80665 m/s2 (about 32.1740 ft/s2). The precise strength of Earth's gravity varies depending on location. However, other factors such as the rotation of the Earth also contribute to the net acceleration. There is a direct relationship between gravitational acceleration and the downwards force (weight) experienced by objects on Earth, given by the equation F = ma (force = mass × acceleration). This quantity is sometimes referred to informally as little g (in contrast, the gravitational constant G is referred to as big G). It has an approximate value of 9.81 m/s2, which means that, ignoring the effects of air resistance, the speed of an object falling freely near the Earth's surface will increase by about 9.81 metres (32.2 ft) per second every second. In SI units this acceleration is measured in metres per second squared (in symbols, m/s2) or equivalently in newtons per kilogram (N/kg). The gravity of Earth, which is denoted by g, refers to the acceleration that the Earth imparts to objects on or near its surface. ![]()
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