Redefining Reality - The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

that these were related. The way to meld gravitation into the
theory was to connect it to acceleration. The two would be
.
Imagine you are in an elevator with a bathroom scale. Before the
elevator starts moving, you step on the scale, and it shows your
normal weight. But as the elevator starts moving up, the scale reads
more than it did before. We can understand this if we think about
how the scale works.
Normally, you stand on the scale and your weight pushes down
inside squish; the amount of squish is read off by the dial
showing your weight. As the elevator goes up, you are still
below. There is more squish in the springs and the weight
displayed increases.
If the cable snaps and you fall down the elevator shaft, the
scale would read 0. You are still pushing down on top of the
you are, so there is no squish in the springs. You are effectively
weightless as you fall.
Now suppose that you are in a rocket in an empty region of space,
far away from any massive object; there is effectively no gravitation.
You step on a scale, and your weight reads 0. You have weight on
Earth because of the Earth’s gravitation pulling you down, but if
there is no gravity, you have no weight.
Now suppose that the rocket accelerates upward. You will
is pushing up against you. If you accelerated at just the right
rate, increasing your speed by 32 feet per second each second,
and then stepped on the scale, it would show your weight
on Earth.
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