In physics, “free fall” refers to the motion of an object where the only force acting on it is gravity. This means the object is falling towards the Earth (or other celestial body) under the influence of its gravitational pull alone, without any other forces like air resistance or friction.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
Gravity is the key:
Free fall is essentially a consequence of gravity. Gravity is the force of attraction that pulls objects towards each other, and in the case of objects near the Earth, this force causes them to accelerate downwards.
No other forces:
For an object to be considered in free fall, it’s crucial that no other forces are significantly affecting its motion. While some objects might encounter air resistance, which can slow down their descent, these are considered “non-ideal” free falls.
Uniform acceleration:
In a vacuum, where there’s no air resistance, all objects in free fall will accelerate downwards at the same rate, regardless of their mass. This acceleration is known as the acceleration due to gravity, often denoted as ‘g’ (approximately 9.8 m/s²).
Examples:
Common examples of free fall include a stone dropped from a height, a ball thrown upwards (as it descends), or even the moon orbiting the Earth (though it’s a more complex case of free fall).