I was once told by an instructor that there is no up or down but isn't this a false statemnet?
If your going up, you're going against the gravitational pull, if your going down then you're going with the gravitational pull.
2006-10-18 06:36:22 · 8 answers · asked by fordfan444 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
You are right as long as there is a significant gravitational pull.
If you are out in space with no significant gravitational pull, then there is no up or down for you.
2006-10-18 06:47:36 · answer #1 · answered by johnlb 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually no, the Planet Earth is not the only place that exists. The teacher is correct, you may feel gravity effects but that is not a true indication of movement, it is a recognized translation that we understand and apply.
Look at the larger picture, as you are going uphill, the hill is moveing on a tectonic plate,the plate is rotateing with the earth, the earth is orbiting the sun, the sun is orbiting the the Milky Way, Milky Way is expanding with space, are you moveing up or down.
2006-10-18 06:51:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Direction is an ambiguous concept. In my physics class we are taught to draw out a sketch of a word problem. In order to solve the problem we must set up a set of coordinate axes. Different people might choose a different way to set up the axes (ie. some people may see up and down as forward and backward). It all depends on how you look at the situation. No matter what the problem is and how you set the solution up or what direction you choose to be down and which direction is forward or backward, the answer will always come out the same (if you have solved the problem correctly, of course)!
There definitely is an up and a down, they're just different for different people in different situations.
2006-10-18 10:38:49 · answer #3 · answered by xdtsztr 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're right about up and down, but I'm not sure the instructor was speaking, literally. What exactly was the statement reffering to? It sort of reminds me the haunted house at Disney. All the walls come together more inward, and a voice says, no way out, but up.
2006-10-18 07:51:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What your instructor should have said is that direction is relative. "Up" and "Down" are usually observed relative to gravitational pull. In the absence of gravity, this is usually based on "Up" as being towards your head and "down" being towards your feet. This would also mean that "Up" and "down" could be different for any two different people.
2006-10-18 06:47:40 · answer #5 · answered by professorpippyppoopypants 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Up, down, sideways, behind, in front, and so on are all terms of relativity invented to explain the proximity of other objects compared to ourselves. Naturally, due to gravity, we ascribe anything 'above' us (with us between it and our centre of gravity) as 'up' and 'down as the opposite. In space where there is an absence of gravity the concept of up and down wouldn't be apparent so we would call 'up' anything vertically above our heads. Anyone floating in the opposite direction would also call 'up' and 'down' as relating to objects that they perceive as being above or below them. This is what your instructor meant. Of course there really is an 'up' and a 'down' but they are personal to you. We also use these terms because we see the earth as having a top and bottom in the North and South poles. In England, where I live, near Manchester, we would talk about going down to London but up to Scotland.
2006-10-18 07:12:47 · answer #6 · answered by quatt47 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes you are right, but in a way so is he, the people on the other side of the world are standing upright though we precise them as being upside down compared to us
2006-10-18 06:45:27 · answer #7 · answered by michael m 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is correct. It is only something humans created to describe pogo sticks pupose.
2006-10-18 06:47:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋