Question pertaining to relativity / Motion / Gravity???
Discussion
So, every now and again this question will pop into my head and it seems to always do so when I am some place where I cannot jot it down as a reminder to research it later on.
Luckily I happened to be on my computer just now when it re-entered my head and I figured, what better place to ask then on Piston Heads.
Basically the curiosity of it all stems from a single moment I had when I was in my early teens and was a passenger (obviously) in the back of a SUV when it happened.
I don't know if this will be pertinent or not to answering my question, but the vehicle I was in was a large SUV, which I have not been able to remember what make it was. I do know that it was a rather large but perhaps more importantly much longer than your average SUV i.e. it had an extra row of seating. At the moment I can only recall two SUV's that I was a passenger in that would hint at being the extra size of the SUV I was in; Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. I only mention the size and the extra seating to convey the length. Take in mind too that there was an open cargo area obviously behind the last row of seats. I was seated in the 1st row of the rear seats.
Not long into the drive I found a wiffle ball back there with me. What I did with the wiffle ball kept me curious for years afterwards. All I did was throw it up and down. Not high or hard enough to hit the roof of the SUV.
We were on the highway which meant that we were driving atleast 65mph and at times probably near 80mph.
My question is this; how was it that throwing the ball straight up inside the car while doing those speeds the ball would always land right back in my hand? I would think that the ball would end up in the 2nd row of seats. Or while the ball was in the air not bound to anything and we were doing an average speed of just say 70mph wouldn't it be correct to say that we (me since I threw it straight up in air) would 'crash' into it?
For example; if we are in an air plane and I am lying down (so when I throw it straight up it doesn't hit the ceiling) in the aisle at the front of the plane and someone is standing at the other end of the aisle and I throw a wiffle ball straight up, traveling at 500mph, wouldn't the person at the end basically run into it?
Luckily I happened to be on my computer just now when it re-entered my head and I figured, what better place to ask then on Piston Heads.
Basically the curiosity of it all stems from a single moment I had when I was in my early teens and was a passenger (obviously) in the back of a SUV when it happened.
I don't know if this will be pertinent or not to answering my question, but the vehicle I was in was a large SUV, which I have not been able to remember what make it was. I do know that it was a rather large but perhaps more importantly much longer than your average SUV i.e. it had an extra row of seating. At the moment I can only recall two SUV's that I was a passenger in that would hint at being the extra size of the SUV I was in; Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. I only mention the size and the extra seating to convey the length. Take in mind too that there was an open cargo area obviously behind the last row of seats. I was seated in the 1st row of the rear seats.
Not long into the drive I found a wiffle ball back there with me. What I did with the wiffle ball kept me curious for years afterwards. All I did was throw it up and down. Not high or hard enough to hit the roof of the SUV.
We were on the highway which meant that we were driving atleast 65mph and at times probably near 80mph.
My question is this; how was it that throwing the ball straight up inside the car while doing those speeds the ball would always land right back in my hand? I would think that the ball would end up in the 2nd row of seats. Or while the ball was in the air not bound to anything and we were doing an average speed of just say 70mph wouldn't it be correct to say that we (me since I threw it straight up in air) would 'crash' into it?
For example; if we are in an air plane and I am lying down (so when I throw it straight up it doesn't hit the ceiling) in the aisle at the front of the plane and someone is standing at the other end of the aisle and I throw a wiffle ball straight up, traveling at 500mph, wouldn't the person at the end basically run into it?
What would happen if you were driving a lorry and the trailer was full of birds, who are sitting on the floor of the trailer. You stop at the lights. The sudden lack of movement encourages many of the birds to start flying around the trailer. As you pull away, would all the flying birds smash into the back of the trailer?
Pamoothican said:
You and the ball are also doing 500mph on the plane
Newton's first law?
You and the ball were on a spinning and orbiting planet, and the entire solar system is rotating galatically. And the universe is expanding. Newton's first law?
What, exactly, is your frame of reference?
Or, less dramatically, why do you not feel a 65 mph wind in the car before you conduct the experiment.
Edited by Mr E on Friday 20th January 23:50
TwigtheWonderkid said:
What would happen if you were driving a lorry and the trailer was full of birds, who are sitting on the floor of the trailer. You stop at the lights. The sudden lack of movement encourages many of the birds to start flying around the trailer. As you pull away, would all the flying birds smash into the back of the trailer?
Yes, except the ones flying forwards. Unless it was an airtight box, in which case, no.Edited by deeen on Saturday 21st January 09:27
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