- #1
Greg654
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Hello,
Can you please explain the analogy oft quoted to explain the concept of applied motion to objects in space, which goes as follows :
1. You are standing on a skateboard or sitting in a boat floating on the water, holding a bowling ball.
2. You throw the bowling ball towards the back of the skateboard (or stern of the boat).
3. As a result of the action of throwing the heavy weight, you (and the skateboard or boat) move in the opposite direction (reaction).
However in non-gravitational space the bowling ball has no weight and is therefore equal, in terms of weight, to that of a feather on Earth.
in non gravitational space : bowling ball = feather = 0 Kg (though both objects evidently possesses very different masses)
In what way does the above analogy apply to the context of non-gravitational space in which the object being pushed has no weight ?
edit : for clarity
Can you please explain the analogy oft quoted to explain the concept of applied motion to objects in space, which goes as follows :
1. You are standing on a skateboard or sitting in a boat floating on the water, holding a bowling ball.
2. You throw the bowling ball towards the back of the skateboard (or stern of the boat).
3. As a result of the action of throwing the heavy weight, you (and the skateboard or boat) move in the opposite direction (reaction).
However in non-gravitational space the bowling ball has no weight and is therefore equal, in terms of weight, to that of a feather on Earth.
in non gravitational space : bowling ball = feather = 0 Kg (though both objects evidently possesses very different masses)
In what way does the above analogy apply to the context of non-gravitational space in which the object being pushed has no weight ?
edit : for clarity
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