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Free fall. In classical mechanics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. A freely falling object may not necessarily be falling down in the vertical direction. An object moving upwards might not normally be considered to be falling, but if it is subject to only the force of gravity, it is said to be ...
Three-body problem. Approximate trajectories of three identical bodies located at the vertices of a scalene triangle and having zero initial velocities. The center of mass, in accordance with the law of conservation of momentum, remains in place. In physics, specifically classical mechanics, the three-body problem is to take the initial ...
Free-fall time. The free-fall time is the characteristic time that would take a body to collapse under its own gravitational attraction, if no other forces existed to oppose the collapse. As such, it plays a fundamental role in setting the timescale for a wide variety of astrophysical processes—from star formation to helioseismology to ...
Terminal velocity. The downward force of gravity (Fg) equals the restraining force of drag (Fd) plus the buoyancy. The net force on the object is zero, and the result is that the velocity of the object remains constant. Terminal velocity is the maximum speed attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid (air is the most common example).
Gravitational acceleration. In physics, gravitational acceleration is the acceleration of an object in free fall within a vacuum (and thus without experiencing drag). This is the steady gain in speed caused exclusively by gravitational attraction. All bodies accelerate in vacuum at the same rate, regardless of the masses or compositions of the ...
Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) [ 1 ] or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Microgravity environment is more or less synonymous in its effects, with the recognition that g-forces are never exactly zero.
Accelerometer. An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. [1] Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (that is, relative to an inertial frame of reference). [2] Proper acceleration is different from coordinate ...
Projectile motion. Parabolic trajectories of water jets. Components of initial velocity of parabolic throwing. Ballistic trajectories are parabolic if gravity is homogeneous and elliptic if it is radial. Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as ...