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Originally Posted by Doctordick
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Galileo also provided another deduction of great significance: everything fell at the same speed. People always say that Galileo dropped two objects from the leaning tower, but I have heard that he didn't; he simply used the idea of dropping two rocks from the leaning tower as a thought experiment and no one was able to show him wrong. From my understanding (which of course could be wrong) ...
Have fun -- Uncle Dick
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Yes, your understanding is wrong.
In fact, Galileo devised an inclined plane down which he
rolled his bronze balls to conduct the necessary experiments. Seems he lacked a sufficiently accurate timepiece if he simply dropped his balls.
Here's an in depth description of the experiments and reasoning of Galileo.
Galileo and the Mathematics of Motion: Part I
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...Galileo wanted to study gravity -- and how it affected acceleration -- in great detail, but falling objects accelerated too quickly, and the time was too short, to make accurate observations.
Was there any way he could try to slow down the effect of gravity -- to observe the rate of acceleration in slow motion? This is exactly what the inclined plane allowed Galileo to do.
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PS Galileo's own description: >>
http://books.google.com/books?id=cza...esult&resnum=5
