In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on it and moves along a geodesic. The present article only concerns itself with free fall in the Newtonian domain.
An object in the technical sense of free fall may not necessarily be falling down in the usual sense of the term. An object moving upwards would not normally be considered to be falling, but if it is subject to the force of gravity only, it is said to be in free fall. The moon is thus in free fall.
In a uniform gravitational field, in the absence of any other forces, gravitation acts on each part of the body equally and this is weightlessness, a condition that also occurs when the gravitational field is zero (such as when far away from any gravitating body). A body in free fall experiences "0 g".
The term "free fall" is often used more loosely than in the strict sense defined above. Thus, falling through an atmosphere without a deployed parachute, or lifting device, is also often referred to as free fall. The aerodynamic drag forces in such situations prevent them from producing full weightlessness, and thus a skydiver's "free fall" after reaching terminal velocity produces the sensation of the body's weight being supported on a cushion of air.
The Freefall is an amusement ride developed by Giovanola and marketed throughout the world by Swiss company, Intamin. Two generations of this ride were developed. First generation Freefall rides can be identified by the angled supports at the base of the lift tower. Second generation Freefall rides were identical, but the tower's base structure on those variants did not taper outward.
It was a common ride at major amusement parks until the late 1990s, when the classic freefall rides began being replaced with larger, higher-capacity Drop Tower alternatives. Since then, Freefalls have been disappearing from midways, to be replaced by the newer-technology rides such as the Intamin Giant Drop (2nd generation), Gyro Drop (3rd generation), and the S&S Power series of compressed-air tower rides.
Currently, Demon Drop at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Free Fall (Elevador) at Beto Carrero World, Brazil, Hollywood Action Tower at Movie Studios Park, Italy, Freefall at Rusutsu Resort, Japan, Free Fall at Central Park, Japan, Free Fall at Nagashima Spaland, Free Fall at Tokyo Summerland, Japan, and Free Fall at Rusutsu Resort, Japan are the only remaining Intamin first generation Freefall rides in operation.
Free fall is the ability to achieve the sensation of weightlessness (for example to be falling freely in an atmosphere, or to be in zero-g). In skydiving, the term freefall is also used for the portion of the skydive prior to the deployment of a parachute, even though significant portions of it are at terminal velocity rather than freely accelerating in gravity.
Free fall, Free-fall or Freefall may also refer to:
I said to him
Goodbye
That's what I said to him
With a hard look in my eyes.
I said to him
Goodbye
And I didn't cry.
No, I didn't cry.
I should have said
That I wished he'd stay.
I should have said
That we didn't know
How things should go,
That we were slow
To really know
That life is not how it seems,
That life is the stuff of dreams,
That each one kills the thing they love!
So each one says hallo,goodbye
And they don't know why.
I said to him
Goodbye
With a hard look in my eyes
And I didn't cry.
And I don't know why...