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Slinky Drop
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All the comments and stories posted to Hacker News that reference this video.> Yes, it's the Wile E. Coyote problem. Wile E. Coyote runs off a cliff, floats in mid-air long enough to hold up a sign that says "Help," then begins to fall.Clearly that's an exaggeration. But just how much time does elapse, in real life, between stepping off a cliff and beginning to fall?
Meh, not so much. One is already in a gravitational field before one falls off a cliff. The time it takes you to start falling has more to do with propagation of forces inside your body, which would happen at around the speed of sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGIZKETKKdw
The speed of propagation of gravitational waves would be more applicable to something like blowing up a planet. What if someone could blow up the earth in such a way that all the debris flew away from Wile E. Coyote at the speed of light? (And also that he has the powers of Superman and would be unaffected by radiation and vacuum.) How long would it take for him to notice that his weight has started to change?
⬐ vehementiStay tuned, for next paragraph on "the post you're replying to" all your questions will be answered!