A question I'm embarrased to ask - earth's spin

Jose wrote:

taken to an orbital limit the object becomes weightless,

An object in orbit is not weightless. That's why it's held in orbit, by
gravity. If it was weightless, gravity could not act on it. It would not
have inertia. An object in orbit is actually in a constant state of
freefall. That's why you feel weightless, and things float about, when
in orbit.

Or when you make an airplane out of an orange crate and jump off the
garage roof. Nevermind....

John

If it was weightless, gravity could not act on it.

"If it were..." (not "if it was..."). Don't confuse weightless with
massless. Mass is the quantity that is conserved, and gives inertia.
Weight is the =force= due to gravity on that object. In a free falling
frame, an object is weighless, despite its mass.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose wrote:

"If it were..." (not "if it was...")

You're kidding, right?

Don't confuse weightless with
Mass is the quantity that is conserved,
I wasn't. I didn't know masses changed. By saying "conserved" are you
saying some went away. Do you mean 'constant'?





Weight is the =force= due to gravity on that object. In a free falling
frame, an object is weighless, despite its mass.



If it doesn't weigh anything, why is it falling?

Does it expierience microgravity?

"If it were..." (not "if it was...")

You're kidding, right?

Nope. "Were" is used with a subjunctive ("contrary to fact") condition.
"The sky isn't blue, but if it were, I could fly today."

I didn't know masses changed.

Except for nuclear reactions and high speeds, they don't. "Conserved"
(in physics) refers to a quantity the same before and after. For
example, a point can change how far north it is from another point
simply by changing the reference frame (magnetic, true), but the
distance is conserved.

In the statement I made about mass, "constant" works just as well, but
"conserved" is more to the point, as we are changing reference frame.

If it doesn't weigh anything, why is it falling?

It isn't. It's remaining right where it is. Only in the earth's
reference frame is it falling (accelerating downwards). But the earth's
frame is not the free-falling one I was talking about. In the reference
frame of the falling object, nothing at all is happening to it. It's
staying right where it is. ("Where are you?" "I'm right here. I'm
always 'right here', why do you keep asking!")

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.