Galileo's Free-Fall Principle
"In the absence of air resistance, all objects fall with the same constant acceleration toward the center of the Earth." Try the Galileo preset: a feather and hammer dropped together in vacuum land simultaneously!
Key Equations (Constant a = −g)
Displacement
Δy = v₀·t + ½a·t²
Velocity−Displacement
v² = v₀² + 2a·Δy
Average Velocity
v̄ = (v₀ + v) / 2
Energy Conservation
In an ideal system (no air resistance, perfectly elastic bounces), total mechanical energy is conserved. Watch the amber bar remain constant while blue and violet trade places.
Discovery Tasks
- Feel the Speed: Drop from 70m and watch the ball cover more grid lines each second. The spacing between strobe dots grows — that IS acceleration!
- Symmetry Check: Launch upward at 20 m/s. Time-to-peak equals time-to-fall. Landing speed equals launch speed (with bounce = 0).
- Air Drag: Enable air resistance and compare a 0.5kg feather vs 5kg hammer. Heavier wins!
- Energy Loss: Set bounce to 0.8. Each peak is lower — where did the energy go?