Why i hate Science
So— i’m listening to the radio & there’s this guy doing a small bit on ‘physics’ & he’s describing this ‘experiment’ in which two buddies are standing next to a pool-table ( Billiard’s Table ) & they both roll a ball across The Table with sufficient force that both bounce over The Rim & Fall to The Floor, with The tiny conditional that Ralph rolled his ball with substantially greater force, so that it rolled faster & flew further, but both balls, because Steve rolled his ball a little bit sooner than Ralph rolled his; Both balls left The Table in The Same instant
( defined as such ! ).
The Question then is; Which ball hit The Floor first ?
The Physics Answer is that they both hit The Floor at The Same Time, in The Same Instant, because Horizontal Traveling Distance isn’t affecting The Gravitation Pull of both Balls towards The Earth. Ralph’s ball hits The floor several feet from Steve’s, but they both hit at The same time.
Then; The Guy on The Radio goes on to say that if Ralph, in a variant Universe, where a human might do this; Were to Roll his ball with sufficient force to Approach ‘Escape or Orbital’ Velocity; So that Ralph’s ball were to Travel several Miles or Spiral Over The Earth for 2 or 3 Orbits before it finally hit someone else’s floor in a different country; Then; Under these Circumstances; Ralph’s ball would remain aloft longer, But only because it was traveling so very much further.
i find this enormously annoying that This Guy on The Radio was Not able to recognize that what he was describing or defining was a curve of Travel Time vs Time in The Air; & just completely ignoring The Fact that when Travel Time was very short, when The two balls would hit The floor in The Same room, would be on The Same Curve of Vertical/Horizontal Travel Time; as The Version whereas Ralph’s ball would exit The room. Meaning of Course; That The Two Balls in The Same room would hit at Different Times ( !!! )
Like wise; When you Drop a Bowling Ball & Hat Pin from equal heights at that Same Instant; Both will ( According to Popular Physics ) hit The ground at The Same Instant;
But of course; The Gravitational Attraction between these Three Objects varies from Set to Set. The Bowling Ball is being Pulled downward while it is pulling The Earth UpWard; Which is what The Hat Pin is doing, But while these two Additions equal different Sums, because The Mass of The Earth is so overwhelming larger than either The Bowling Ball or The Hat Pin;
This Difference is going to be Infinitesimally tiny; But Not Zero ! The Bowling Ball will Hit Sooner, & again; It drives me Crazy that Popular Physics teaches this false Lesson with such ubiquity & veracity; Many Children that grow up & follow an interest in Science or A Profession in Physics, they carry with them an important misunderstanding of how The World Fits Together ( !!! )
