What Does freefall Mean
Before getting fully into the clarification of the meaning of the term free fall, it is interesting to know the etymological origin of the two words that give it its shape:
-Caída is a noun that derives from Latin, specifically, it comes from the verb “cadere”, which can be translated as "fall".
-Free, on the other hand, is an adjective that also emanates from Latin. In your case, from "liber", which has the meaning of "free".
It called fall to the act and the result of falling or falling . This verb refers to what a body does when, by its own weight, it moves downwards. Free , for its part, is an adjective that qualifies that or that which has no ties, limitations or conditioning.
With these definitions we can already understand what the concept of free fall refers to . The expression is often used to name the element that falls due to the influence exerted by the force of gravity .
Suppose a child drops a ball from a terrace onto the ground. When the ball begins to descend, it does so in free fall: there is nothing to hold it back, and there is no force that propels it more than gravity .
In reality, all falls are often faced with air resistance . However, for practical reasons, the idea of free fall is usually applied when the environment 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 data. We are referring to the situation of the origin, which is the point from which it is launched, and the sign of acceleration.
In the field of sports and recreation , a type of skydiving is called free fall in which the person throws himself from an airplane that flies at a certain height (usually about 4,000 meters ) and only opens his parachute when it is done. essential to reach the surface without impacting the ground.
In free fall, the skydiver begins his descent very fast due to gravity. It can stay in free fall for about a minute, reaching speeds of 250 kilometers for now . When located about 1,500 meters from the surface, it opens the parachute and descends smoothly.
In different amusement parks there are also some of those that respond to the name of free fall. And it is that it is a high-rise tower at the top of which people ascend seated in seats, shaped like a gondola, with the relevant security measures. Once they reach their highest point, those seats will descend at a blazing 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 90s. Among the most significant are those that have a height of 30 meters and the fall of the aforementioned gondola from the summit to the lower zone occurs in just a few seconds.