From: Ronald Wong (ronwong@inreach.com)
Date: Fri Nov 22 2002 - 01:10:20 PST
Message-Id: <l03102801ba039f0379cc@[209.209.18.213]> Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 01:10:20 -0800 From: Ronald Wong <ronwong@inreach.com> Subject: Re: pinhole gravity
>>Upon landing, ask them, "Did you FEEL any force PULLING you down?". (You'll
>>know when the grey cells are beginning to kick in when some of them climb
>>right back up and jump down a few more times just to check their answers.)
>>
>>The answer of course is "No".
>
>
>
>Hi Ron,
>
>As I sit here I do feel a force pulling me down. Only my chair prevents my
>movement. When I hold my arm out horizontally I feel a force trying to
>pull it down. My muscles get tired keeping it in position.
John:
One of the reasons Aristotelian physics lasted for thousands of years is
because it wasn't developed by dummies.
All the examples you listed were adequately addressed by their model.
You're not the first person to sit in a chair or hold up their arms until
they get tired of it. They sat in chairs/stools and were also familiar
with the fact that one gets tired holding their arms up for long periods of
time.
They just had an idea about nature that didn't require forces that nobody
ever saw or felt and it addressed your examples as well.
You just have to be as creative as they were and look at things from their
frame of reference.
Too bad you weren't a participant in Linda Shore's workshop.
> Do you mean that the force is not felt while an object is in free fall? I
>guess I would not expect to feel the force if I'm not resisting moving
>with it.
Scientists don't "guess" or "expect" anything when they make their
observations.
Just jump off a table and you'll see that the kids are right. There is no
force pulling them down.
Have fun! - but do it with care.
ron
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