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Old 02-01-2014, 09:29 AM   #9 (permalink)
euromodder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vman455 View Post
Hold on--I'm remembering my Galileo: bodies of varying mass fall at the same rate.
In vacuum

IRL, the rate of fall is determined by mass, shape & volume (body density and aero drag), the length of the fall and air density.
If you don't believe that, don't go sky jumping

That's why it took until Galileo for people to realise the concept.


Quote:
Has anyone proven empirically that in the case of two cars, with identical Cd and frontal area but different masses, the heavier car will roll faster downhill?
There's no real need to try it.
Gravity usually exceeds rolling resistance.

The main thing you might need to overcome is inertia, i.e. getting the car rolling - which takes the most force.
Once rolling, the heavier car will accelerate away from the lighter one.
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