• JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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    6 months ago

    So why does the bowling ball fall faster in a vacuum? Does it appear faster locally because the heavier object makes local time slower than the lighter object compared to a distant observer? I’m trying to understand what the meme is getting at.

    • dev_null@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      Because it, ever so slightly, pulls Earth towards it with it’s own, miniscule gravity.

      • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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        6 months ago

        But that doesn’t make the bowling ball fall faster to a distant observer, just the earth fall twords the ball. To an observer on earth it would appear to fall faster though.

    • Drewfro66@lemmygrad.ml
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      6 months ago

      The bowling ball also pulls the earth towards itself. This amount is imperceptibly small but still there