Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: SummarySuppose you drop a coin from 10 feet above the ground. How long does it take to reach the ground? This routine exercise is well-known to every AP physics and calculus student: the answer is given by a formula that assumes constant acceleration due to gravity. But what if you ask the same question in the more realistic scenario of nonconstant acceleration following an inverse square law? In this article, we explain the analysis of this realistic scenario using freshman-level calculus and examine some implications. As a bonus, we also answer the following intriguing question: Suppose the Earth were to instantaneously collapse to a mathematical point at its center. How long would it take for us surface dwellers to fall to the center?
Source: College Mathematics Journal
Authors: Anindya Sen, Sunil Chebolu
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4404316092