this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2025
906 points (98.6% liked)

Science Memes

16812 readers
4508 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (4 children)

~~I mean, yes and no.~~ ~~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity#Physics ~~ ~~Heavier objects have a higher "max speed" that they can fall at, compared to lighter objects. The acceleration to that relative speed is constant though. More or less.~~

~~IE : While a bowling ball and a ping pong ball might start falling at the same initial rate, eventually the bowling ball will fall faster.~~

EDIT : Ignore me for now, I need to do more digging.

[–] rockerface@lemmy.cafe 35 points 5 days ago (1 children)

In a medium, which is an important distinction

[–] bizarroland@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

Yeah, it's not like they just blindly accepted what he said. They held up a feather or a leaf or a sheet of paper and a lead weight and dropped them both at the same time and the lead weight hit the ground while the leaf was still fluttering in the wind.

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 30 points 5 days ago (2 children)

That's not because of weight though. That's just one thing being affected more by air resistance. In a vacuum, there would be no difference. In fact, they did just that during the Apollo 15 mission on the moon using a feather and a hammer:

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_15_feather_and_hammer_drop.ogv

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago

Hey buddy! I came to post that video!

I know what is happening. I know why it is happening. My brain is still screaming at the feather to slow down.

[–] oftheair@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 days ago

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_15_feather_and_hammer_drop.ogv

Without the m as the browser will decide for itself if it needs the mobile version.

[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 4 points 5 days ago

The acceleration to that relative speed is constant though. More or less.

It's not. Air resistance will affect lighter objects more due to Newton's second law and the square-cube law, resulting in heavier objects accelerating faster than light ones. Only at the initial instant, where there is no air resistance due to the speed being 0, will two objects of different weight be subject to the same downward acceleration.

[–] LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] oftheair@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_principle

Without the m as the browser will decide for itself if it needs the mobile version.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I can't tell if this is you chastising me or giving me a shovel to help me dig.

[–] LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Lol I think it's the research you were missing and I already had the link copied. Wasn't being a jerk for once, just was giving you info

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

all good then, thank you :)