Free fall of bodies in the interior of a closed and transparent container

Abstract

In this paper we discuss a new experimental demonstration of the independence of the properties of bodies (mass, chemical composition, shape, etc) in free fall. This is one of the simplest experiments in Mechanics, though it’s one of the most important ones, having been repeatedly carried out and rethought by several scientists such as Galileo and Newton. Our version of this famous experiment uses one bottle (closed and transparent), in which we introduce a feather and a stone, observing the simultaneous free fall of these bodies. Because it’s not necessary to create vacuum, this version can be repeated by teachers and students either in High Schools or Universities in any environment. Thus its viability and applicability in the classroom is evident.