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Galileo's experiment and equivalence principle

 
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May8-12, 02:05 PM   #1
 

Galileo's experiment and equivalence principle


Why do we say that Galileo's experiment at Pisa is an illustration of Equivalence Principle?

All we know is that

G* (mass of earth)*(gravitational mass of object)/(R^2) = (intertial mass of object)*a

Therefore,
a=G* (mass of earth)*(gravitational mass of object)/(R^2 * (inertial mass of object))

The experiment shows that a does not change for different objects.
But this only guarantees that (gravitational mass of object)/(inertial mass of object)= a constant, which is not necessarily 1.
 
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May8-12, 04:43 PM   #2
 
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Quote by AlonsoMcLaren View Post
But this only guarantees that (gravitational mass of object)/(inertial mass of object)= a constant, which is not necessarily 1.
We choose the value of G so that that constant is equal to 1. We don't have to - it just makes the math simpler. We could, if we wanted, say that that constant was equal to 2, and use a value of G which was greater by a factor of four to make the calculation match the force that we measure experimentally ... but why bother?
 
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