Weightlessness in free fall occurs because, despite the presence of gravity, no contact forces act on the body, leading to the sensation of weightlessness. According to General Relativity, a free-falling object follows a geodesic in spacetime, experiencing no net force. In contrast, the Newtonian perspective explains that without contact forces, such as the normal force felt when standing, the body experiences no internal stresses, resulting in a feeling of weightlessness. This adjustment period can cause discomfort, similar to sensations experienced during a roller coaster drop.
PREREQUISITESStudents of physics, educators explaining gravitational concepts, and anyone interested in the effects of free fall and weightlessness on the human body.
in free fall, there are essentially no stresses or strains acting, so we don't feel anything even though the gravity force (weight force) is always acting. When standing on the ground, we feel the normal force ( contact force) causing internal stresses on the body. Remove that contact force and the stresses go away, and the body must now adjust to the lack of stress which make you 'feel' queasy like on a roller coaster drop . In that sense, we sort of do feel gravity, at least during the period of adjustment (which astronauts adjust to I am told, I am not one).Sentosahere said:Normally in a free fall , there will be gravity acting to your body but when we free fall , we don't really feel the force , we feel weightless ( ignoring air resistance ) , ( not in contact with anything). Why?