Does required time for free falling bodies is independent of mass?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the independence of free fall time from mass, as presented by Professor Walter Lewin in OCW 8.01. Despite extensive experimentation by physicists, no evidence currently supports the notion that the time for free falling bodies is mass-dependent. Any future discovery of such a dependency would challenge the principles of General Relativity, potentially warranting a Nobel Prize for the discoverer. The consensus remains that, as of now, free fall time is independent of mass.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newtonian physics principles
  • Familiarity with General Relativity concepts
  • Basic knowledge of experimental physics methodologies
  • Awareness of historical physics experiments related to free fall
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the implications of General Relativity on free fall dynamics
  • Explore experimental setups that test the mass-dependence of free fall
  • Study the historical context of Galileo's and Newton's contributions to free fall theory
  • Investigate current advancements in gravitational physics and their experimental validation
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, educators in the field, and researchers interested in gravitational theories and experimental physics will benefit from this discussion.

ddnath
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In a class at OCW 8.01 Professor Walter Lewin said...

"...there are very prestigious physicists who even nowadays do very fancy
experiments and they try to demonstrate that the time for an apple to fall does depend on its mass even though it probably is only very small, if it's true but they try to prove that. And if any of them succeeds or anyone of you succeeds that's certainly worth a Nobel Prize."

What did he actually mean? Really?! Is it possible to proof that time required for free falling of bodies is not independent of mass?
 
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Is it possible to proof that time required for free falling of bodies is not independent of mass?
We don't know. It has not been observed yet, but it could be observed in the future.
IF there is any deviation (that is a big if), it would mean that General Relativity is wrong.
 

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