Motion

Galileo's Naturally Accelerated Motion

One of the single most important men in the field of physics is the Italian born Galileo Galilee. During his time theorizing and experimenting within the field of physics, he formulated one of the most widely taught theories, that of naturally accelerated motion, which posits the idea that bodies during falls pick up equal levels of speed in equal time periods. Within the concept of naturally accelerated motion, an object which falls out of a resting state moves double the speed at two seconds of falling than in one, which is then continued throughout the time the object is in motion..

According to this theory, the natural acceleration of bodies in falling motions always increases in correlation with the amount of time that body has been falling. As states earlier, a body will fall twice as fast after two seconds then one. And so, after twice that amount of time, a body will reach speeds of four times the original speed of fall. This then continues for the entire length of the area covered by the falling body in motion. Much unlike more complex conceptions of physics, this theory can be proven by students and amateurs even in modern day classrooms.

One of the ways Galileo confirmed his conception of naturally accelerated movement was through experimentation using a ramp with a large degree slope. Galileo measured the speed which the ball would travel based on the measurement of how many meters that ball had traveled. This experiment can be repeated even today using the same basic tools and levels of measurement. If a ball has been dropping for two seconds, it will be traveling at a rate of four meters per second. As it reaches three meters, it will be traveling at a rate of six meters per second, and so on. Current findings should still portray Galileo's original findings. These findings can also be portrayed using a linear graph with the slope steadily increasing by double the amount of space traveled by the body in motion. It is the universal nature of the findings of this theory which proves its validity.