Experiment Md-05
Free Fall in Vacuum
Description: This
experiment recreates Galileo's famous experiment dropping two different mass objects
from the tower of Pisa. A coin and a feather are placed in a tube. The majority
of the air is then removed from the tube with a vacuum pump, reducing the air
resistance. When the tube is flipped, the coin and feather will fall and hit the
bottom of the tube simultaneously. A video monitor showing the base of the tube
will help students see that gravitational acceleration is independent from the
mass and shape of an object.
Tube
mounted on a stand such that it can be turned upside-down.
Entire
experimental setup, including vacuum pump.
Materials:
tube, stand with pivot, feather, coin, vacuum pump, tubing
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This page was last updated on
Friday August 15, 2008 8:37 PM
