Question about Make a Whirlybird from Paper activity

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khaledokasha
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Question about Make a Whirlybird from Paper activity

Post by khaledokasha »

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How is it that the whirly bird fights against gravity? Why cant gravity push the whirly bird down all the way? What makes it so the whirly bird spins so that it can fight gravity? If I attatch a big and strong enough whirly bird to me, can I also fight against gravity?And lastly, can it exist to where something is against gravity by so much that it counters gravity? What even is gravity?



You don't need to answer all of this and I appreciate your time. I would just like the science of gravity to be explained, like the definition of what gravity is. Gravity is a very confusing topic. I always think of gravity as a force pushing down, and that is how everyone thinks, but I have not thought beyond that point to the extent of how much gravity is there.

I pose this question because of many things. Gravity is the controller of everything. When one thing moves, another reaction happens, and it keeps going and going, and sometimes gravity can push something to the extent where something is attracted to something else, like X to Z let's say, but it is attracted to the point where X can only watch as Z moves further and further away, and it withers as it watches. Gravity can be seen as a basis to life; Before the earth and the sun there had to be gravity first, before even plants and molecules. Gravity is a really interesting topic and not just scientific but also comes with nature, and with us. I'm curious if we can have a will power so strong that it can defy gravity.







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bth80
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Re: Question about Make a Whirlybird from Paper activity

Post by bth80 »

Gravity is a very interesting and complicated topic, but I'll try to answer as many of your questions as possible.

Gravity is essentially a force present between all object with mass. The strength of gravity depends on the mass of the objects and their distance. That's why we notice the gravitational pull from the Earth but not from anything else, because it is the only massive object within any sort of reasonable distance.

To answer your specific questions about the whirlybird, it can temporarily resist gravity by pushing off of the air and creating lift. If there was no air, like on the moon, the whirlybird would fall just as fast as any other object. Its hard to realize that air is everywhere since we can't see it and its always present, but when it comes aerodynamics, its important to remember.

Also yes, if you had a very large whirlybird attached to you it would fight against the pull of gravity and act similarly to a parachute. We can also create things that can fully resist gravity, but those things require external energy, such as in a plane, rocket, or hot air balloon.

This question is really interesting, so reply to this answer if you have any further questions!
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