the earth rotates at a speed of about roughly 1000 miles per hour in the equator, thats close to 444 meters per second. Now if I stand in the equator and throw a baseball vertically up in the air, why doesnt' it land on the earth 444 meters away from me(after a second). Because all this time, only i was in contact with the earth, so only i should move, the ball in the air shouldn't move. Ok, granted, lets take air currents etc into consideration, but still i'm moving away from the ball at 444 meters per second, even if we take the currents into consideration, the ball should atleast fall a 100 meters away from me. Why doesnt' this happen? and finally Why can't we just levitate in air, and use earth's rotation to travel?
2007-12-07 04:40:01 · 6 answers · asked by swamy g 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
SIMPLE really :)
when u throw the ball up, initially it is in contact with ur hand so it has the same velocity as you (speed due to earth) so when it is in the air it still has the horizontal velocity due to contact with ur hand and so it also moves ahead along with you , thus lands at the same place as you.
2007-12-07 04:48:06 · answer #1 · answered by gauravragtah 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think that it has to do with momentum. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. When you throw that ball in the air it is already going 1000 miles per hour like the earth, because it is a part of the earth like everything else. You get kind of the same effect when you're going down the road at 65 mph. You throw a quarter in the air in the car, it doesn't smack the back window. It is traveling at the same speed as the car you are in. Hope this helps
2007-12-07 12:54:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My guess is that gravity still affects the ball just about as much in your hand as it does 50 feet up in the air. Not that much of a difference. Since we're rotating with the Earth, and the difference in gravitational pull is negligible between 50 feet or however high you can throw it, we're pulled along with the momentum, which is why we can't leap into the air and land somewhere else.
2007-12-07 12:50:00 · answer #3 · answered by Josh 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everything contained within Earth's atmosphere is moving at the same rate of speed until other forces act upon them. So the ball going straight up with no wind will come straight down, because it is moving through space at exactly the same speed you are.
2007-12-07 12:50:47 · answer #4 · answered by curtisports2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
gravity makes things a bit more relevant. havent you every wondered why youre not throwing up like on a bad roller coaster ride?
yeah all i have to do is say the word hand and youll believe me? whats up with my answer getting thumbs down? like the hand thing made any sense. the answer is relative gravity.
2007-12-07 12:49:53 · answer #5 · answered by aaron c 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you should pay more attention to chris angel and learn to levitate. then you wold have your answer
2007-12-07 12:48:31 · answer #6 · answered by ribuckeye 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋