Free fall occurs due to the action of the force of gravity.
Free fall is an expression that is usually used to name the element that falls due to the influence exerted by the force of gravity .
Before entering fully into clarifying the meaning of the concept, it is interesting to know the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
- Fall is a noun that derives from the Latin verb cadere , which can be translated as “fall.”
- Libre , on the other hand, is an adjective that also emanates from Latin. In his case, from liber , which has the meaning of “free” .
What is free fall
The act and result of falling or falling is called a fall . This verb refers to what a body does when, due to its own weight, it moves downward. Free , for its part, is an adjective that qualifies one or that which has no ties, limitations or conditions. These ideas allow us to understand what free fall is.
Suppose a child drops a ball from a terrace to the ground. When the ball begins to descend, it does so in free fall: there is nothing to hold it back nor a force that propels it other than gravity .
In reality, all falls usually face the resistance exerted by the air . However, for practical reasons, the idea of free fall is usually applied when the medium exerts little significant resistance.
When solving problems about the free fall of an object, it must be taken into account that it is essential to have two essential pieces of information. We are referring to the situation of the origin , which is the point from which it is launched, and the sign of acceleration .
Free fall is a type of skydiving.
A type of skydiving
In the field of sports and recreation , free fall is called a type of skydiving in which the person jumps from an airplane that flies at a certain height (usually about 4,000 meters ) and only opens his or her parachute when it is done. essential to reach the surface without hitting the ground.
In free fall, the skydiver begins his descent very quickly due to gravity. It can remain in free fall for about a minute, reaching speeds of 250 kilometers for now . When it is located about 1,500 meters from the surface, it opens the parachute and descends gently.
Free fall in amusement parks
In different amusement parks there are also free fall entertainment. It is a tall tower to the top of which people ascend sitting on seats, shaped like a gondola, with the relevant safety measures. Once they reach their highest point, those seats will drop at a very high speed, as if they were falling directly.
Not all people are prepared to enjoy this type of attraction, which began to become popular in the 1990s . Among the most significant are those that have a height of 30 meters and the fall of the gondola from the summit to reach the lower area occurs in just a few seconds.