Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
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You probably know that two objects dropped in a vacuum fall at the same rate, no matter the mass of each item. If you’ve never seen a demonstration of this, then you really should, because it’s incredible to watch.
Here is perhaps the perfect example, brought to us by physicist Brian Cox. He checked out NASA’s Space Simulation Chamber located at the Space Power Facility in Ohio. With a volume of 22,653 cubic meters, it’s the largest vacuum chamber in the world.
In this hypnotizing clip from the BBC, Cox drops a bowling ball and a feather together, first in normal conditions, and then after virtually all the air has been sucked out of the chamber. We know what happens, but that doesn’t stop it from being awesome, especially with the team’s ecstatic faces.
[Hat tip: io9]
