Weightlessness on Earth's Surface

[Swapnil]

Suppose that I am standing on the surface of the Earth. Then the only forces acting on me is the force of gravity that is pulling me down and the normal force exerted by the ground that is pushing me up. These forces are equal and opposite in direction and thus there is no net force acting on me. Then why is it that I don't feel weightless?

 

[Cyrus]

In order to feel weightless you would need to have no normal force.

 

[SGT]

It's exactly the opposite. The sensation of weight is given by the normal force acting on you. In free fall the only force acting on you is gravity, so you fell weightless.

 

[Cyrus]

I win.

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[Swapnil]

Really? So if you have no net force acting on yourself, then wouldn't you feel weightless? For example, say you are traveling in a spaceship with a constant velocity in free space with no gravitational force, then aren't you weightless?

 

[Cyrus]

So if you have no net force acting on yourself, then wouldn't you feel weightless?

No, you would feel your weight because there is a normal force.

In the case of the spaceship, there is zero force, not zero net force.

If you were in freefall, your net force would be F=mg, and you would have an apparent weightlessness, because there is no normal force once again.

 

[russ_watters]

Didn't we have this exact question asked in another way in another thread?

No net force does not mean no force, it just means no net force. It seems pretty obvious to me...

 

[Cyrus]

Everything is obvious when you know the answer.