Suppose you are in a barrel going over Niagara Falls and during the fall you drop an apple inside the barrel.?

Question

Would the apple appear to move toward the top of the barrel or toward the bottom, or would it remain stationary with the barrel?

Answer 1

The apple would accelerate at the same rate as the barrel, making it seem weightless. Provided that the watter of the falls doesnt slow the barrel down. Somethign like this is actually done to simulate the conditions in a spacestation. A plane is flewn up to a high altitude, and then goes into a freefall, so the plane accelerates at the same rate as the people inside, which then appear to be weightless.

Answer 2

The apple would appear to go up because it won't be falling as fast as the full mass of the barrel and you in it because the mass of the apple is less.

Remember: F=ma

'a' is the same for all the objects (barrel, person, apple) because it is just gravity.

The only thing that is different is the mass of all the objects.

The barrel and the person have more mass than the apple; therefore, even though the apple is still falling, it is falling slower than the barrel and the person, so it would 'appear' to move toward the top of the barrel.

This is NOT the same as when they try to go 'weightless'...to do that you have to go up, and then down, because at the moment you change from going up to going down you actually have zero vertical velocity for just that moment, thus making it seem like being 'weightless'

With the barrel going down the falls, you supposedly start with zero vertical velocity, and go faster and faster as you go down until you reach terminal velocity (or the bottom/ground).

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

In classical physics, one would say that the apple will not move because falling bodies in the gravity field will fall at the same rate regardless of thier masses.

However, the barrel will encounter air resistance and that is an opposing force, so the forces on the barrel will be gravity minus the air resistance of air that is stationary.
The apple will also encounter air resistance, but the air it is moving through (inside the barrel) is also moving in the same direction so the air resistance will be much less. Therefore the apple will drift slightly downward, but will not move very much before the barrel hits the water below. Then the apple will accellerate and splat against the bottom of the barrel.

Answer 4

My total penny sequence. i can't use pennies for nothin', till... I made a favor on each and every bright copper penny I put in the barrel and threw it into mom nature's wishing properly. that ought to correctly be like thousands of needs! international Peace will reign and all of us receives a yacht, an all inclusive 6 day/ 7 evening stay at Disney's Animal Kingdom inn hotel (consisting of endless buffet) and a souvenir Niagara Falls t-blouse, and far a lot extra!

Answer 5

The barrel is falling freely with acceleration (g- the acceleration due to friction say g’).

For the man inside the barrel this is an accelerated frame of reference.

To find the physics of objects in such an accelerated frame of reference is to apply an equal but opposite acceleration to all objects in this frame of reference and the apply the law of physics as if it is an inertial frame of reference.

Since the man is simply dropping the apple - dropping is wrong because no acceleration after having applied an equal but opposite force- it will be at rest with respect to this frame of reference.

Already there are two or more answers similar to this one and I have ranked them as good answers.

Answer 6

If you're talking about zero air resistance then I would say that the apple would stay stationary. Unfortunately, that situation would not exist. I therefore will conclude that the apple would move towards the bottom of the barrel for the simple fact that the barrel will be subjected to more resistance and the apple has less resistance.

Answer 7

Good question!. Apple would reach bottom of the barrel but the velocity of the apple reaching barrel's bottom would be less than the velocity of an apple dropped inside a standstill barrel. Just relative velocity/motion makes the difference here!

Answer 8

The apple would remain stationary inside the barrel.
Both go down with g = 9.8 m/s2.
Their relative acceleration is 0 m/s2.
Th

Answer 9

Good question.

This is precisely what Galileo proved by experiments at the leaning tower of pisa.

He wanted to show the gravitational force, 980 dynes/sec.sec was equal regardless of the weight of the object being dropped.

He proved it but scientists at that time called him a mad man.

The moral: This also goes to show that so many ideas that you put forth for others to consume may not be accepted right away. That does not mean you are wrong. It is just that the others have not come up to the level of understanding that you have.

So, one should be brave with their courage of conviction.

Answer 10

The apple would scream "What the f*** are you doing bringing me over Niagara Falls in a f***ing barrel!!!" But it would, nonetheless, hover weightlessly within the barrel amidst its ranting. (Since it would be traveling at the same speed as you are, it would appear motionless, +/- movement caused by random air currents, barrel rotation, etc.) This is basically a question about the physics of objects in freefall. Of course, in cartoons the psychology of objects in freefall becomes significant. A cartoon apple might get really big eyes and clamor to escape from the barrel, causing your hair be become greatly mussed. I would also add this small word of advice: “Kids, don’t try this at home!”