Do objects really fall at the same speed in a vacuum?

david scott did this on the moon. the two objects were an aluminum hammer and a falcon feather.

During the final minutes of the third extravehicular activity, a short demonstration experiment was conducted. A heavy object (a 1.32-kg aluminum geological hammer) and a light object (a 0.03-kg falcon feather) were released simultaneously from approximately the same height (approximately 1.6 m) and were allowed to fall to the surface. Within the accuracy of the simultaneous release, the objects were observed to undergo the same acceleration and strike the lunar surface simultaneously, which was a result predicted by well-established theory, but a result nonetheless reassuring considering both the number of viewers that witnessed the experiment and the fact that the homeward journey was based critically on the validity of the particular theory being tested.

watch this:

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/feather...

Any two objects will fall with the same acceleration and will have the same corresponding speed as they plummet to the bottom from a higher point, as long as the experiment is conducted in a vacuum and air resistance does not come into play.

E.g.1 a 1 kilogram bag of feathers and 1 kilogram of iron.

E.g.2 a single feather and a bowling ball.

Note that the mass of the objects does not affect the change in speed too.

Formula: v=u+at

where v=final velocity, u=initial velocity, a=acceleration due to gravity and t=time.

Well, the reason why objects are often observed to fall at different speeds is because of air resistance. So any object with a lot of air resistance for its weight, like a feather or a skydiver, will fall more slowly than gravity alone would suggest. If you run an experiment where you drop a penny and a feather simultaneously in vacuum on Earth, they will fall at the same rate, though they do not in air.

I think objects of different mass falls ALMOST at the same speed in vacuum. According to law of universal gravitation F=G m'm/r^2, if the mass of first object is m1, the second is m2 and the earth's m and the distance between the earth and O1(object 1) is equal to that between O2 and the E, we can get that F1 and F2 is not equal, so their speed won't be the same. But because m is infinite in terms with m1 or m2, these difference between F1 and F2 is negligible, and then we can roughly say there speed is the same.

In a vacuum with no air resistence (and presumably no other forces other than gravity acting on it), as long as they start at the same time, they should travel at the same speed. This speed will constantly accelerate, though, at a rate of 9.8 meters per second, per second.

An example: Two thermonuclear missiles who, at a very high rate of improbability, suddenly turned into a very surprised-looking whale and a bowl of petunias. Both fell to the ground accelerating at the same rate.

"I realized the error in the statement that objects fall at the same speed in a vacuum when I was in 8th grade"

Way to go Einstein!

Why don't YOU enlighten us by sharing your epiphany - it would save a great deal of time!

The reason why things fall at the same speed is because the gravity pull is the same. "Falling" is just "gravity pulling" toward it's center. In this case, Earth is pulling it toward it's core. in a "vacuum" everything falls at the same rate (9 meters a second - so in 2 seconds it'd be 18 meters, etc etc)... because there's no force holding it back, ie: Wind, or friction

Hmm, in my vacuum objects go up. By the way, is it 2 syllables or 3?

No, objects do not fall at the same speed in a vacuum. They fall at the same ACCELERATION RATE.

We could answer that question if you can find a vacuum void of any substance.