free fall experiment feather and bowling ball

WATCH: A Bowling Ball And Feather Fall in World's Biggest Vacuum Chamber

It was Galileo himself who first discovered that in a vacuum, if you were to drop two objects from the same height, they'd hit the ground at exactly the same time, regardless of their respective weights. Of course, on Earth, we rarely - if ever - get the change to see this at play, thanks to a phenomenon known as air resistance .

The combination of bowling ball and feather is the perfect way to demonstrate air resistance, also known as drag. Because the shape of the feather allows it to endure way more air resistance than the bowling ball, it takes much longer to fall to the ground.

British physicist Brian Cox wanted to see this primary-school problem play out in a vacuum, where there is zero air resistance to mess with the results. Filming for his new BBC 2 show, Human Universe , he travelled to the US and visited the NASA Space Power Facility in Ohio. The facility is the world's largest vacuum chamber, measuring 30.5 metres by 37.2 metres, and has a volume of 22,653 cubic metres. 

When not in use, the chamber contains around 30 tonnes of air, but when it's turned on, all but around 2 grams of air are sucked out to create an artificial vacuum. Watch above to see what happens when a bowling ball and feather are dropped in the chamber under 'normal' conditions and then in a vacuum. If it's enough to make even the most seasoned NASA scientist grin with childlike wonder, you know it's gotta be good.

Source:  io9

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Justine Alford

Guest Author

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You probably know that two objects dropped in a vacuum fall at the same rate, no matter the mass of each item. If you’ve never seen a demonstration of this, then you really should, because it’s incredible to watch.

Here is perhaps the perfect example, brought to us by physicist Brian Cox. He checked out NASA’s Space Simulation Chamber located at the Space Power Facility in Ohio. With a volume of 22,653 cubic meters, it’s the largest vacuum chamber in the world.

In this hypnotizing clip from the BBC, Cox drops a bowling ball and a feather together, first in normal conditions, and then after virtually all the air has been sucked out of the chamber. We know what happens, but that doesn’t stop it from being awesome, especially with the team’s ecstatic faces. 

[Hat tip: io9 ]

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Watch a Feather and Bowling Ball Fall At the Same Speed

Gravity - air = video gold.

Over 400 years ago, the story goes, Galileo stood atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped two balls of different masses over the edge. As we all know, both balls smacked the ground at the same time, proving that gravity affects objects’ acceleration regardless of mass. (Though whether that was a real experiment or merely a thought experiment is  still debated .)

Regardless, it’s a great, memorable visual. But be prepared to replace it with an even better one.

To demonstrate the effects of air — not gravity — on falling objects, physicist Brian Cox of the  BBC Two  program  Human Universe   visited the largest vacuum chamber in the world: NASA’s Space Power Facility in Ohio.

In this video, you see Galileo’s centuries-old concept illustrated quite dramatically. A bowling ball and a feather both fall at the same speed when all the air has been removed from the massive chamber.

Read more : 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Gravity

Yeah, it makes sense, but it’s still surreal to see a massive bowling ball and a delicate feather fall at an identical speed.

Although the demonstration is certainly impressive here on Earth, let’s not forget Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott’s rendition of the famous experiment — from the moon. Both a falcon feather and a hammer fall at the same speed, but without the encumbrance of a massive vacuum chamber.

Gravity: it has a certain pull on the human curiosity.

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Dropping Objects in World's Largest Vacuum Chamber

Dropping things can be fun. Dropping things in a vacuum is even cooler. You might think that dropping things in a giant vacuum chamber would be the ultimate in coolness. Well, it's close. In fact, this is the best feather and heavy object dropping video.

Yes, astronaut David Scott dropped a hammer and feather in a much larger vacuum chamber - the moon.

Heavier Objects Don't Hit the Ground First

I've already covered the common ideas about dropping objects. In general, most people think that heavier objects should fall faster than lighter objects. Really, what they mean is that heavier objects should fall with a greater acceleration than light objects, but they like to say "faster".

Here is the short answer.

• If there is no air resistance, after you let go of an object the only force on it is the gravitational force.
• The gravitational force is proportional to the mass of the object. More massive objects have a greater gravitational force.
• The acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force on the object and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.

Let me write this mathematically.

See. The masses cancel. Mass doesn't matter even though matter is made of mass (physics pun). Also, I wrote these equations as scalar instead of vectors just to make it look simpler.

The Bowling Ball and Feather in Real Speed

The bowling ball and feather drop in the BBC Human Universe video looks awesome. However, they ran the shot in slow motion to make it look more dramatic. Wouldn't in be cool to see it in real time? I think I can make that happen.

Normally, I would take a video like this and find the real frame rate. I've done this before with some of the MythBusters videos. The basic idea is to look at a falling object. Since you know the acceleration should be -9.8 m/s 2 , you can just find the correct frame rate to give you that acceleration. It's pretty simple. However, that doesn't work in this case. The problem here is that there are two things I don't know. I don't know the distance scale and I don't know the frame rate. This means I need another strategy.

Luckily, the video shows the same bowling ball and feather dropping with air and in real time. I can use that to find the scale of the video. In this case, I will use the close up shot that shows the bowling ball and I will find the diameter.

If I use a bowling ball diameter of 21.59 cm, the falling ball seems to have the correct acceleration. Here is a plot of the vertical motion of that first fall.

Of course this is using the free video analysis program Tracker . Also, remember that the kinematic equation for an object with a constant acceleration (in the y-direction) is:

The term in front of t 2 in the fitting equation would be 1/2 of the acceleration. So, a coefficient of -4.73 would give an acceleration of 9.46 m/s 2 . This isn't 9.8 m/s 2 like I would expect, but it's close enough.

I can also get the total falling time from the video with a value of 2.04 seconds. This means that I can solve for the drop height of the ball.

However, I ignored the air resistance on the bowling ball during this drop. Is that ok? Let's say the ball has a mass of 6 kg. If you then create a numerical calculation for a falling ball both with and without air resistance, you get a time difference of just 0.048 seconds. Yes, you can try this calculation for yourself (as a homework exercise).

Moving on to the slow motion video (without air), I get the following plot for the vertical position of the bowling ball.

This gives an acceleration of 0.018 m/s 2 - but that's not a real second, that's a fake second (since the video isn't in real time). If I call this time unit s', I can set this acceleration equal to 9.8 m/s 2 (real seconds here) and solve for the relationship between real and fake time.

This means the slow motion video would have to be recorded at 580 frames per second instead of 25 frames per second. Perfect. Now I just need to increase the speed. Here's what that would look like.

Pretty cool, right? Ok. I admit that I cheated a little bit. I used iMovie to speed up the video and there is a default "20x" speed increase so I used that. Yes, it's not 23 times faster but it still looks better.

Two More Points

Look at the feather. In the case with no air (and you can really see this in the slow motion video), the feather parts move right when the feather is released. Is this because there is air? Nope. It's because the tips of the feather are in equilibrium before the drop. This means that other parts of the stem have to pull up on the feather tips in order to make the net force zero. When the feather is released, this streching force is still acting on the tip of the feather and causes it to move up with respect to the rest of the feather.

This is just like the famous (well, famous to me) falling slinky .

You could drop something else. I think this would have been a perfect video to do something even cooler. Everyone drops a ball and a feather. That's been done many times. Also, everyone already expects the bowling ball to hit the ground first. Their usual reasoning is that the bowling ball hits the ground first because it's heavier.

What if I told you that sometimes the heavier things fall with a lower acceleration? Yup. It's true. Suppose you took something like a large foam ice chest (cooler) and a small rock. The ice chest has a larger mass, but the rock would hit the ground first (in the presence of air). It's not just about mass. The cooler has a larger mass but it also has a much larger surface area to create a larger air resistance force.

In this video, I drop a large foam board and a small piece of paper. Guess which one hits the ground first?

It would be cool to see the same type of objects dropped in the giant vacuum chamber. Oh, and I probably could have figured out this slow motion frame rate with much less hassle if I had noticed this tiny time stamp in the lower left of the video.

It's tiny indeed - but it does show the time. I wish all slow motion videos had this feature (but a little bigger so I could see it).

October 10, 2013

Showing Science: Watch Objects in Free Fall

A physics problem from Science Buddies

By Science Buddies

Key concepts Physics Free fall Forces Gravity Mass Inertia

Introduction Have you ever wondered how fast a heavy object falls compared with a lighter one? Imagine if you dropped both of them at the same time. Which would hit the ground first? Would it be the heavier one because it weighs more? Or would they hit the ground at the same time? In the late 1500s in Italy the famous scientist Galileo was asking some of these same questions. And he did some experiments to answer them. In this activity you'll do some of your own tests to determine whether heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.

Background In fourth-century B.C. Greece the philosopher Aristotle theorized that the speed at which an object falls is probably relative to its mass. In other words, if two objects are the same size but one is heavier, the heavier one has greater density than the lighter object. Therefore, when both objects are dropped from the same height and at the same time, the heavier object should hit the ground before the lighter one. Is this true?

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Some 1,800 years later, in late 16th-century Italy, the young scientist and mathematician Galileo Galilei questioned Aristotle's theories of falling objects. He even performed several experiments to test Aristotle's theories. As legend has it, in 1589 Galileo stood on a balcony near the top of the Tower of Pisa and dropped two balls that were the same size but had different densities. Although there is debate about whether this actually happened, the story emphasizes the importance of using experimentation to test scientific theories, even ones that had been accepted for nearly 2,000 years.

Materials • Two balls of the same size, but different mass. For example, you could use a metal and a rubber ball or a wooden and a plastic ball, as long as the two balls are about the same size. If two spherical balls like this are unavailable, you could try something like an apple and a similar-size round rock. • A ladder or step stool  • A video camera and a helper (optional)

Preparation • You will be dropping the two balls from the same height, at the same time. Set up the ladder or step stool where you will do your test. If you are using a heavy ball, be sure to find a testing area where the ball will not hurt the floor or ground when it lands. • If you are using a video camera to record the experiment, set up the camera now and have your helper get ready to record. • Be careful when using the step stool or ladder.

Procedure • Carefully climb the ladder or step stool with the two balls. • Drop both balls at the same time, from the same height. If you are using a video camera, be sure to have your helper record the balls falling and hitting the ground. • Did one ball hit the ground before the other or did both balls hit the ground at the same time? • Repeat the experiment at least two more times. Are your results consistent? Did one ball consistently hit the ground before the other or did both balls always hit the ground at the same time? • If you videotaped your experiments, you can watch the recordings to verify your results. • Can you explain your results? • Extra: Try this experiment again but this time use balls that have the same mass but are different sizes. Does one ball hit the ground before the other or do they hit it at the same time? • Extra: Try testing two objects that have the same mass, but are different shapes. For example, you could try a large feather and a very small ball. Does one object hit the ground before the other or do they hit it at the same time? • Extra: You could try this experiment again but record it using a camera that lets you play back the recording in slow motion. If you watch the balls falling in slow motion, what do you notice about how they are falling over time? Are both objects always falling at the same speed or is one falling faster than the other at certain points in time? Observations and results Did both balls hit the ground at the same time?

You should have found that both balls hit the ground at roughly the same time. According to legend, this is what Galileo showed in 1589 from his Tower of Pisa experiment but, again, it's debated whether this actually happened. If you neglect air resistance, objects falling near Earth’s surface fall with the same approximate acceleration 9.8 meters per second squared (9.8 m/s 2 , or g ) due to Earth's gravity. So the acceleration is the same for the objects, and consequently their velocity is also increasing at a constant rate. Because the downward force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by g , heavier objects have a greater downward force. Heavier objects, however, also have more inertia, which means they resist moving more than lighter objects do, and so heaver objects need more force to get them going at the same rate.

More to explore Elephant and Feather—Free Fall , from The Physics Classroom Engines of Our Ingenuity: No. 166: Galileo's Experiment , from John H. H. Lienhard, University of Houston Video: Fall of 2 Balls of Different Weights , from Matthias Liepe, Cornell University What Goes Up, Must Come Down: Conduct Galileo's Famous Falling Objects Experiment , from Science Buddies

This activity brought to you in partnership with  Science Buddies

We have all learned that gravity pulls on things at the same rate. Therefore, a bowling ball and a feather will experience the same gravitational acceleration. Seemingly in contradiction, you instinctively know that if you dropped a feather and bowling ball at the same time, the bowling ball would land first. Despite being often ignored in lecture, air resistance is an aspect that can't be ignored in practice. In fact, it is an important consideration when exploring how objects move in our world, something no skydiver would contradict.

In this lab, your group is tasked with observing how objects fall and the ways air resistance affects them. By investigating the concept of terminal velocity, you will model how an object's maximum speed is related to its mass. Along the way, you should become more familiar with the equipment and data analysis techniques you will be using throughout the semester as well as developing productive skills to work more effectively in groups.

In order to investigate the effects of air resistance on an object's trajectory, it is important to review some important principles. We know that the force acting on an object can be rewritten as a sum of all other forces on it. This is an experimental fact, something we observe time and again in many different experiments. That is,

$${\overrightarrow{F}}_{\text{Net}} = \Sigma{\overrightarrow{F}}_{i} = {\overrightarrow{F}}_{1} + {\overrightarrow{F}}_{2} + \ldots$$

where${\overrightarrow{\ F}}_{\text{Net}}$ is the total force on an object and ${\overrightarrow{F}}_{i}$is the individual contribution of each force. It is important to remember that these forces are vectors , and therefore the direction of each force matters.

From Newton's second law, we know that the acceleration of an object ( a ) is relative to the mass of that object ( m ) and force acting on it ( F ). Again, this result comes from many experimental observations of objects experiences forces. More commonly, we see this written as

$$F = \text{ma}$$

When considering freely-falling objects, the acceleration that they experience is g .

Air resistance, another force acting on a falling object, can be considered as

$$F_{D} = \frac{1}{2}\rho v^{2}C_{D}A$$

• $F_D$ is the drag force
• $\rho$ is the mass density of the fluid
• $v^2$ is the velocity of the object
• $C_D$ is the drag coefficient
• $A$ is the area.

By combining these equations, we can determine the acceleration each object feels as well as the terminal velocity of an object, dependent on its mass. Take note that the gravitational force and the drag force act in diametrically opposed directions for objects falling in a straight line.

Research Concepts

In this lab, like many others this semester, you'll likely benefit from video tracking and obtaining your data from the videos. As such, prior to class it's useful to understand:

• What terminal velocity means and what parameters on which it depends
• What a vector means and how they can be combined
• How the above equations can be combined to determine the relationship between mass and terminal velocity
• How you can determine the speed of an object from a displacement vs time and velocity vs time graph.

Additionally, you will be using video tracking software in many labs this semester, including this one. Therefore, it would be useful to:

• Download video tracking software from http://physlets.org/tracker/ (the computers in the lab have this as well, but it may be useful on your own devices, too)
• Understand how to use the software, especially regarding how to track specific objects and how to analyze data ( http://physlets.org/tracker/help/frameset.html )
• Look up the frame rate of the camera in your phone, as well as what slow-motion options it has (and the frame rate for any slow motion functions on your phone).

Tracker Tips

Throughout the semester, you will be expected to make decisions with your data and apparatus when conducting experiments. However, because this is the first time you will be using the video tracking software, we wanted to share some tips to help expedite your data acquisition and analysis. This list is not exhaustive, and complications in an experiment can arise unexpectedly. However, these common issues can be avoided through thoughtful experimental design:

• Pay attention to your surroundings, ensuring that there is enough contrast between the falling object and background, especially if the background is in focus.
• Many videos will look the same, so finding a way to designate between them will expedite analysis.
• Consider a way to calibrate parameters on the video, especially distance.
• Ensure your camera is being held still
• Try taking and analyzing a test video before taking all of your data. You may determine some issues with your setup that you can fix before it's too late.

Free Fall Experiment

Part 1 – Determining “g” from a Free-Falling Object

You all know that letting go of a carried object will cause it to fall due to gravity. However, using video-tracking software, we can obtain a value for the acceleration of the fall, or “g.” With your group, choose an object to drop, recording the fall with a camera (i.e., your phone).

You are responsible for your equipment, so make sure the object you choose will not break.

Obtaining valuable data will require participation from the entire group. There are many aspects to consider while conducting this experiment, so determine with your group who will be responsible for each aspect in order to conduct your experiment efficiently. When recording this free-fall, consider:

• The equation you are using to model the object's motion
• What parameters you will need to know or measure (i.e., distance, time, mass, etc.) and how you will be obtaining them from the video or the data?
• What sources of uncertainty you are considering and the relative effect of these sources?

From your video data, determine the acceleration of the object.

• How does it relate to the “known” value of g, 9.81 m/s^2^?
• Can you account for any differences between your value and the “known” value?

Part 2 – Observing Drag

You just observed what happens when dropping a bulky object, but as you know intuitively, a bowling ball and a feather don't fall at the same rate. Therefore, an object's properties must be a factor determining how fast it falls. We can observe this by tracking an object we know will fall differently, like a coffee filter.

Drop a coffee filter from an appreciable height and watch how it falls. When making observations of the falling filter, consider:

• How does the filter fall? Why is this so different from the object dropped in Part 1 ?
• Does the way the filter fall depend on how it is dropped? Consider dropping the filter with different orientations to draw conclusions.
• Are there ways you can design your experiment to maintain consistent orientation during the fall?
• Is there a minimum height you can drop the filter from to make sure it reaches terminal velocity?

Part 3a – Determining Terminal Velocity

When you are ready to take quantitative data, record the motion of the filter as it falls, using the video tracking software to help analyze your data. How you determine the terminal velocity from your video will be up to you and your group, but keep in mind your variables and the benefits of the tracking software, such as the graph and data tables. (Keeping these in mind will help with the rest of the experiment.) While analyzing your data, it would be useful to consider:

• How are you determining and measuring the terminal velocity?
• How confident are you that the filter has reached terminal velocity?
• How can you use your data to help increase confidence in the value reported as well as decrease the uncertainty?
• What might happen to the terminal velocity if you stack multiple coffee filters?

Part 3b – Determining the Relationship Between Mass and Terminal Velocity

By stacking filters, you can change the mass of the object without adjusting the shape (i.e., your drag coefficient and area remain constant). That way, you can investigate how the terminal velocity is related to the mass of the object without changing any of the other variables in your equations.

• While adding coffee filters, is there a point at which terminal velocity is no longer observable?
• If so, can you adjust your experiment in order to still measure this? Think of all the variables in the equation and in your experiment (i.e., those not necessarily in the equations).
• If you can no longer determine terminal velocity, why not?
• How many different masses are you able to test before you can no longer determine terminal velocity?

Part 4 – Synthesizing Your Data

You can determine the terminal velocity of each individual video using the tracking software. In order to relate each trial, you will have to use Excel (or similar software). Transfer your data into Excel and determine how terminal velocity depends on mass. When modeling data, it is often helpful to represent the data graphically. When creating your graph, consider:

• Under what parameters does your plot become linear?
• How does this relate to the theoretical equations given? Does your data support theoretical models? Why or why not?
• If so, can you determine any quantitative information from your plot? (When modeling, the slope and intercept are often useful values.)
• If not, why not? What factors make the relationship difficult to determine?
• Are you able to conclusively determine anything from your data? If not, what would you need to be able to draw conclusions?

Questions to Think About

As you conduct your experiment, it may be helpful to consider:

• How are you assigning your uncertainty?
• Are there ways to design your experiment so that you minimize your uncertainty?
• What is your goal for each part? Have you considered how you will analyze your data, ensuring your design will be appropriate?
• How are you going to determine when the filter moves at terminal velocity?
• free_fall.txt
• Last modified: 2019/08/15 18:12

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Blockbuster physics, bowling balls and feathers in a vacuum, and more

By Tushna Commissariat

The results of a successful scientific experiment can make scientists very happy. Indeed, in the clip above, taken from the BBC TV series Human Universe , one scientist exclaims “holy mackarel!” when he sees the outcome he was hoping for. In the video, everybody’s favourite physicist Brian Cox carries out an experiment similar to Galileo’s Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment, where he tested that no matter the mass of objects, they fall at the same rate under gravity. In the video above, Cox drops a bunch of feathers and a bowling ball in the world’s biggest vacuum chamber – the Space Simulation Vacuum Chamber at NASA’s Space Power Facility in Ohio, US. In the slow-motion video, you can see with exquisite clarity just how accurate Galileo’s prediction was, as the feathers and ball land at precisely the same time. We came across this video on the Dot Physics blog on the Wired Science network, written by physicist Rhett Allain , where he has worked out some of the maths and pointed out some of the nuances of the above experiment, so make sure you take a look.

Our regular readers will have seen that yesterday I pointed you to a live webcast of “Quantum Mechanics and Spacetime in the 21st Century” – a lecture by physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed as part of the Perimeter Institute’s Public Lecture Series. You can now watch the lecture on YouTube . Also, take a look at physicist Peter Woit’s blog Not Even Wrong , where he has a slightly more critical take on the lecture and Arkani-Hamed’s views on supersymmetry . Don’t forget to tell us in the comments below which camp you fall into!

Also, to commemorate what would have been much-loved physicist and science communicator Carl Sagan’s 80th birthday, the Perimeter Institute has put together a very fun list titled “ 19 awesome things about Carl Sagan other than Cosmos “. Do take a look to find out how long a Sagan Unit is and what a mysterious “Mr X” wrote about in an essay in 1971.

The Internet is abuzz with talk about the latest physics-related blockbuster film Interstellar , which is out today. As I am reviewing the film for Physics World , I have been careful to not read any reviews about the film just yet! But I have it on good authority from colleagues that this blog by physicist John Preskill titled “ When I met with Steven Spielberg to talk about Interstellar ” and this interview in Science magazine with Kip Thorne, titled “ Physicist who inspired Interstellar spills the backstory – and the scene that makes him cringe ” make for some excellent reading. Next week, I will also be attending a  première of the film Theory of Everything , which encapsulates the early life of celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking. I am quite looking forward to the “red carpet, Leicester Square” event, and I will be writing about the film soon after, so keep an eye out for it on the blog next week.

And finally, see if you could land a vehicle on a comet, as the Rosetta craft will do next week, thanks to this interactive game on the BBC website and take a look at some pictures from the life of a PhD student on the Guardian website …my favourite is “Space Desk”.

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Brian Cox’s Galileo experiment is mind-blowing (video)

by Gordon Hunt

Still of Brian Cox on BBC

BBC presenter Brian Cox’s gravity experiment a few days ago was spectacular.

Cox , a physicist and former musician, went to America, to NASA’s Space Power Facility (SPF), to observe the gravitational force applied when dropping a bowling ball, and a feather, from a height.

Near Cleveland, Ohio, NASA’s SPF  is the world’s biggest vacuum chamber. It’s used to test spacecraft in the conditions of outer space, doing so by pumping out the 30 tonnes of air in the chamber, until there’s just two grammes left.

According to Galileo Galilei’s discovery, in vacuum, if two objects were dropped from the same height, they would fall on the surface at exactly the same time. The theory states that the weight of the objects should not affect the experiment.

Before the vacuum took place, Cox released the bowling ball and feather from a significant height in the chamber, explaining how both objects, according to the laws of gravity, should drop at the same speed.

“Galileo’s experiment was simple: He took a heavy object and a light one and dropped them at the same time to see which fell fastest,” explains Cox as the objects are released.

What happened, rather more predictably, was the bowling ball travelling at a far higher velocity – the wind resistance on the feather was too great, slowing it down significantly.

The scientists at the SPA then spent three hours pumping the air out of the facility, setting up new conditions to test the drop in.

This time, both the feather and the bowling ball fell at the exact same rate, not a flicker in the feather, just straight down like a dart, hitting the ground at the same time – gravity at work in its purest sense.

But Cox then spoke of Albert Einstein’s “happiest thought”.

“The reason the bowling ball and the feather fall together is because they’re not falling. They’re standing still,” he says.

“There’s no force acting on them at all. He reasoned that, if you couldn’t see the background, there would be know way of knowing that the objects were accelerating to the earth. So he concluded… that they weren’t.”

Mind successfully blown.

Related: electronics

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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Instructional Resources and Lecture Demonstrations

1c20.10 - free-fall in a vacuum (penny and feather demo).

The vacuum tube may have to be taken apart for cleaning.  Check the oil in the vacuum pump and maintain at the proper level.  Using the triangular variable wedge will help insure that the tube will not roll off the table.

A small ball of cotton may be substituted for the feather.

A way to do this without the vacuum system is to take a large text book and place a piece of paper directly on top of it.  When this is dropped the paper will drop at the same speed as the textbook and stay directly on top of the book.

• Hollis Williams, "A High-Speed Test of the Equivalence Principle", TPT, Vol. 60, #7, Oct. 2022, p. 594.
• Elida de Obaldia, Norma Miller, Fred Wittel, George Jaimison, and Kendra Wallis, "Bridging the Conceptual Gap Between Free Fall and Drag-Dominated Regimes", TPT, Vol. 54, #4, Apr. 2016, p. 233.
• Christopher L. Vaughan and Moshe Nissan, "Teaching Mechanics with a Digital Camera", TPT, Vol. 25, #7, Oct. 1987, p. 445.
• "M-088: Coin and Feather in Tube", DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.
• George M. Hopkins, "Falling Bodies--Inclined Plane--The Pendulum", Experimental Science, p. 38.
• Julien Clinton Sprott, "1.1, Guinea and Feather Tube", Physics Demonstrations, ISBN 0-299-21580-6, p. 2.
• John Henry Pepper and Henry George Hine, "Gravitation", The Boy's Playbook of Science, p. 14.
• "The Paradox of the Falling Bodies", The Boy Scientist.
• Ron Hipschman, "Falling Feather", Exploratorium Cookbook III, p. 137-1.
• "Falling Feather", The Exploratorium Science Snackbook, p. 50-1.
• Christopher P. Jargodzki and Franklin Potter, "397. Was Galileo Right?", Mad About Physics, p. 154, 297.
• Borislaw Bilash II and David Maiullo, "Falling Together", A Demo a Day: A Year of Physics Demonstrations, p. 27.
• "This Month in Physics History", APS News, Vol. 26, #2, Feb. 2017, p. 2 - 3.
• Borislaw Bilash II, “Falling Together“, A Demo A Day – A Year of Physical Science Demonstrations, p. 238.
• "Guinea and Feather Tube", Pike's Illustrated Catalogue of Scientific & Medical Instruments, 1984, p. 207.

Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist.  The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose.  The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources.  Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks.  These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage.  Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.

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Free Fall In Vacuum - Guinea And Feather

To demonstrate that bodies of extremely different densities fall with equal acceleration in the absence of air friction.

Tube with weight and feather inside, mounted on vacuum pump cart as photographed.

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A long tube with a small weight and a feather inside is evacuated. Upon evacuation the weight and the feather fall with the same acceleration. With air in the tube, the feather falls much more slowly than the weight.

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Falling Bowling Ball and Feather – Experiment in a Vacuum

Experience a captivating scientific investigation with renowned physicist Brian Cox as he embarks on an extraordinary experiment at NASA’s Space Power Facility in Ohio. In this intriguing video titled “Brian Cox visits the world’s biggest vacuum | Human Universe – BBC”, Cox delves into the mesmerizing realm of weightlessness to reveal the astonishing behavior of objects in outer space. Get ready to witness a truly mind-bending demonstration that challenges our understanding of gravity and the laws that govern our universe.

In this fascinating video, Cox sets out to unravel the mysteries of outer space by conducting a unique experiment – dropping a bowling ball and a feather together in the world’s largest vacuum. As he delves into the intricacies of weightlessness and its impact on objects in the vacuum, Cox’s infectious enthusiasm and depth of knowledge illuminate the wonders of the cosmos like never before. Brace yourself for a mind-expanding experience as you witness firsthand the captivating experiment that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of the universe.

Earth science

Which is Quicker: Bowling Ball or a Feather!?

How do you make a bowling ball fall at the same speed as feather? All it takes is a little science and a little help from NASA.

A bowling ball is pretty heavy, whereas a feather is as light as... well... a feather. But gravity pulls both of these objects down to Earth in exactly the same way with exactly the same force – so why do they fall at different speeds? What makes the feather fall slower is the opposing force of air resistance . There is more friction between the feather and the air than there is with the bowling ball. This makes it fall to the ground MUCH slower than a bowling ball.

However, if you put these two objects in NASA's vacuum chamber which removes all the air from the room, the results are very different. Because there is no longer any air, there is no more opposing force – this makes the feather and the bowling ball fall to the ground at exactly the same time (see our video below for a demonstration).

Take our quiz below to see if you've become a gravity genius.

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Is it correct to say that falling object are standing still?

As I was browsing youtube I came across the BBC video " Brian Cox visits the world's biggest vacuum chamber - Human Universe: Episode 4 Preview - BBC Two "

He drops a bowling ball and a feather in a vacuum chamber and observes them hitting the ground at the same time. He then says: "The reason the bowling ball and the feather are falling together is because they are not falling, they are standing still, there is no force acting on them at all..."

This doesn't make any sense to me. I was under the impression and have always been taught that the gravitational force $\vec{F_g}=m\vec{g}$ is the force that "causes" objects to fall.

In addition, if there was no external force acting on the feather and the bowling ball then according to Newtons first law the object would remain in a state of rest (or uniform motion). Since the ball and the feather are being accelerated there must be a force acting on them.

What is going on here? Did he make a mistake or is my understanding of physics even worse than I though?

• general-relativity
• newtonian-gravity
• equivalence-principle

• $\begingroup$ it's an interpretation based on general relativity: objects in free fall are at rest, which can be checked with an accelerometer $\endgroup$ –  Christoph Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 12:15
• $\begingroup$ @Christoph So the newtonian way of looking at it is not accurate? $\endgroup$ –  qmd Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 12:26
• 1 $\begingroup$ Newtonian mechanics is not accurate because it is a limit case of general relativity. It's not only for this case, it's for all cases. But in daily experience the difference is negligible. $\endgroup$ –  Ruslan Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 12:54
• $\begingroup$ @Rzeta: I have updated my answer to reflect Qmechanics's change. $\endgroup$ –  Ryan Unger Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 14:40

5 Answers 5

I would say Brian Cox is being too cryptic. He is stating what is known as the Principle of Equivalence . In pure general relativity, gravity is not a force. It is the curvature of spacetime causing objects to obey the geodesic equation . This is a geometrical feature: the geodesic equation has no mass dependence. In free fall, the objects are unaware of their acceleration. In their frame the objects are at rest with respect to the rest of the universe. I think he is just saying that objects at rest behave the same. It's definitely not how the EP is usually stated.

EDIT: The title of the question has changed. A falling object (assuming complete free fall, i.e. no air resistance) does not experience a gravitational field. Suppose you are in a box and are dropped from a great height above the Earth. You want to test if you are moving. (Rather, you want to test if you are accelerating. Special relativity tells us we cannot test for absolute motion. Assuming a gravitational field that is sufficiently constant in a sufficiently small region of spacetime, the question of absolute motion is meaningless.) So you fire a laser from one side of the box to the other. If you are accelerating, the laser will appear to "curve." If you are in free fall, however, the photons from the laser will hit exactly where the laser is pointed. This is exactly the behavior of a laser one would expect moving at constant velocity in flat spacetime (i.e. no gravity). We then Lorentz transform to a motionless frame (the rest frame of the box). Thus free fall is in a sense equivalent to being stationary in a gravity-free spacetime.

• 1 $\begingroup$ I don't understand. How can it not experience a gravitational field if it is IN the gravitational field of the earth? $\endgroup$ –  qmd Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:26
• 1 $\begingroup$ @Rzeta: It does not experience the field in the sense that there is no (non-rotating) experiment that it can perform to detect the field. $\endgroup$ –  Ryan Unger Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:29
• $\begingroup$ This is really hard to get my head around. Even though I might not be able to test if I am in the field, I am still going to hit the earth after some time $t$ right? $\endgroup$ –  qmd Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:35
• $\begingroup$ @Rzeta: Yes, but that is not the purpose of the Equivalence Principle. The mathematical formulation, or rather, one of the consequences thereof, of the Principle is that the Christoffel symbols $\Gamma^\lambda_{\;\mu\nu}$ are not tensors. Hence they can vanish at a point in one coordinate system (the freely falling one) but must not in all coordinate systems at that point. $\endgroup$ –  Ryan Unger Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:42
• $\begingroup$ So everything I am doing in classical mechanics 1 at the moment is only an approximation that works on earth? $\endgroup$ –  qmd Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:47

In general relativity, the gravitationally free-falling objects are inertial, while you standing on the Earth's surface are accelerated upwards by the force provided by the floor you're standing on. That is why you see the objects as accelerating downwards--because you are in an accelerated frame.

Therefore, your understanding of mechanics on this probably isn't wrong, yet Brian Cox's statement is still correct. You see inertial forces in Newtonian mechanics, e.g., in a rotating frame you have the centrifugal and Coriolis forces, which enable you to pretend that you're not in an accelerated frame and set up Newton's laws as usual, just with those extra terms. Conceptually, what GTR does to Newtonian $\mathbf{F} = m\mathbf{g}$ is simply say that gravitational force is an inertial force too, i.e. you can make it vanish by taking a local inertial frame, but it is alright if you pretend that you're inertial as long as you add it to the force equations (which Newtonian mechanics does anyway).

Quantitatively, of course, the Newtonian limit of GTR is quite a bit more involved, but the result is that Newtonian mechanics is a very good approximation in many circumstances. (In the GEM formalism for weak-field GTR, the centrifugal and Coriolis forces are themselves just special cases of gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields.)

Good Question.

In classical mechanics, Newton's first law says that an object that experiences no force is at rest.

Of course this isn't quite correct when you look this up, as there is a qualification: or it moves at uniform velocity in a straight line.

But this is an artifact of Galilean relativity: imagine you're standing next to a sphere in space; and you're both at rest; now suppose you give the sphere a push; and it moves away at some uniform speed in a straight line; but because of Galilean Relativity, it's equally possible to imagine that the sphere is at rest and not moving, and you're the one that's moving.

What this means is that we have to expand the notion of rest so that it includes this phenomena.

In GR, it's the same except now the sphere is moving along a geodesic , a 'curved straight line'; this means it looks to us as though it is accelerating: which is exactly what we see.

What this doesn't explain though is why the earth being so close to the feather and cannon-ball shouldn't fall along with them so they all three move along in the same motion; and the feather and the cannon-ball wi never catch up with the earth.

This is because we're using the earths mass to curve the space around it; it's a local picture.

If we took the picture from the Sun, then yes, it does look like the earth, the cannon-ball and the feather are 'falling' together.

I think he meant that there are no other forces acting on them except gravitational therefore nothing to slow them down/accelerate them more than the other.

I think Brian took one of Einsteins quotes a little out of context. The quote is: "If a man in space is in free fall without the back drop of Earth or a point of reference he would have no idea that he was falling." So without the back drop of the planet and us to observe the ball and feather they would certainly appear to be standing still. He also concluded that if a man in space was suddenly picked up by an elevator traveling at 9.8m/s^2 he would not be able to distinguish this feeling from Earth's gravity. Therefore there is no difference. This is why acceleration is often quoted in G-Forces.

But the question of what gravity is (is it a force, is it us traveling along a geometric curve, or is the Earth accelerating up like the man in the elevator) defied even Einstein. He could predict it's behavior but gave up on asking why and how.

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50 DIY Fall Decor Ideas You Should Try That Are So Simple, Yet So Stylish

Tessa Cooper is a lifestyle writer and freelance photographer with more than 6 years of experience writing for publications like Apartment Therapy, 417 Magazine, and Feast. She lives in an 1886 Victorian home in Springfield, MO, that she restored with her husband.

The House That Lars Built

Crafting is undoubtedly one of the coziest fall pastimes. There's nothing like a rainy Sunday afternoon with a pumpkin spice candle lit and a craft to keep your hands busy.

We've pulled together this collection of 50 DIY fall decor ideas to help you add some fall flair to every corner of your home. With all the possibilities, there is no excuse for being bored this time of year.

There are pumpkins ready for painting, dried floral wreaths to make, and lots of memories to make along the way.

Want more design inspiration? Sign up for our free daily newsletter for the latest decor ideas, designer tips, and more!

Pumpkin Planter or Vase

@chandeliers.and.champagne / Instagram

A hallowed-out carved pumpkin just so happens to be a great container for holding flowers and plants.

If you want to go the planter route, you can drill or carve a hole at the bottom for drainage, fill it with soil, and then put in a few fall flowers like pansies or mums.

If you opt to use it as a vase for an arrangement instead, you can either fill it with faux flowers or hide a vase full of water inside for real flowers. Either option would make for a beautiful Thanksgiving table arrangement .

Textured Bean Pumpkin

@_thepinklemon / Instagram

This DIY shows off another option for giving a pumpkin some texture. Pull out the dried beans that have been sitting in your pantry for too long, glue them to a faux pumpkin, and paint the entire surface your color of choice.

Hanging Pumpkin Planter

Club Crafted

If you want to take your pumpkin planter to the next level, make it a hanging planter. This works best with a lightweight fake craft pumpkin. Real pumpkins are typically too heavy to hang, even after you remove all the inside contents.

Painted Throw Pillow

My One Hundred Year Old Home

It may not look like it, but this throw pillow is actually very easy to make if you know how to use a sewing machine and embroidery. Start by tracing leaf designs onto upholstery fabric. Use these lines as a guide and apply acrylic paint. Then, embroider the outlines and leaf details before sewing the fabric into a pillowcase.

Textured Painted Pumpkins

@homeofuandme / Instagram

Painting pumpkins is a super easy DIY, so they're becoming a bit of a common sight in the fall decor world. One way to set yours apart is to add a little texture. There are different avenues to achieving this, but one easy way is to add a little baking soda to your paint. The end result will be nearly a plaster effect.

Abstract Yarn Pumpkins

Jonathan Lo of Happy Mundane

We love this Picasso-inspired DIY pumpkin idea. Simply take some thick yarn and have fun experimenting with the different abstract shapes you can make with them. Attach the yarn to the pumpkins using glue. You might find that drawing the patterns on the pumpkins first using a pencil would be helpful.

Pumpkins with Clay Designs

@jaimepederson / Instagram

Pumpkins really are a great canvas for a variety of mediums. Get a little crafty with clay and cut out some on-theme shapes and letters with cookie cutters. Paint your clay creations and then glue them straight onto the pumpkins. This would make an especially great activity for a DIY fall decor craft party.

Macrame Ghost

@macrafayeme / Instagram

Macrame is great DIY decor for any season, but this macrame ghost is especially fitting for September and October. Rope with curly ends will add a playful flair to this project.

Dried Flower Pumpkins

@birdsallco / Instagram

If you're not a fan of the mess (or the slight danger) that comes with carving pumpkins, this DIY is a great alternative. Take some dried flowers you've pressed and attach them to your pumpkins using a spray or liquid adhesive. We recommend displaying these pumpkins indoors to protect them from moisture.

Bookish Fall Garland

@returninggrace / Instagram

Reading and fall go hand-in-hand. Lean into a literary theme with your fall decor this year, and head to the thrift store to find some cheap books that have seen better days.

Old yellowed pages make for beautiful fall garland material. Make a leaf template, trace, and cut the shapes out of the paper. You can use a hole punch to string them together.

Felt Acorn Art

@feltedbutton / Instagram

If you've got access to an acorn tree, beat the squirrels to the lot and collect a few. There are countless DIY fall decor opportunities for acorns. This one utilizes just the caps of the acorns and involves filling them with colorful wool felt.

Fluffy Dried Flower Wreath

@botanical_tales / Instagram

Hanging a dried flower wreath is a beautiful way to greet your Thanksgiving dinner guests. Dried straw flowers, sweet Annie, and baby's breath are a few examples of what would look extra lovely on a wreath.

There are many methods for making your own dried flower wreath , so be sure to select a beginner-friendly tutorial.

Doodle Acorns

@ambicerebral / Instagram

This is a fun fall DIY decor project that you could accomplish while watching your favorite comfort show.

• Start by removing the tops of the acorns and setting them aside for later.
• Then, paint the bases in shades of orange, yellow, and white.
• After they dry, take a thin black marker and doodle on the same designs you did in your high school lecture notes.
• Finish it all off by hot gluing the acorn caps back on.

Patterned Paper Pumpkins

@whitesugardesigns / Instagram

There are so many ways to make paper pumpkins, but one of our favorite methods is fastening strips of stiff paper patterned paper together using a stapler. The scrapbooking section of your local craft store is a treasure trove for beautiful patterned card stock that will bend well.

3D Dried Flower pumpkins

@houselarsbuilt / Instagram

Pressed flower pumpkins are beautiful in their own right. But gluing on dried flowers, wheat, and foliage in their 3D form makes for the most whimsical pieces of DIY fall decor you could dream up.

Shimmery Metallic Pumpkins

@the.painted.piano / Instagram

Add a whimsical twist to your pumpkins this year by spray painting a few of them metallic silver or gold. This is an especially great option for your faux pumpkins since you'll be able to pull them out and re-use them year after year.

Construction Paper Pumpkins

This adorable DIY paper pumpkin proves that solid-colored construction paper is also a great choice for making paper pumpkins. Simply cut orange construction paper into several strips and attach them together with a stapler. Finish it all off with a paper stem or leaf.

Metallic Fall Mobile

@emmamidthjell / Instagram

If you do decide to go the route of painting your pumpkins metallic, here's a great DIY fall decor piece you can make with the leftover paint. Pinecones, acorns, and dried leaves look extra lovely with a little shimmer.

Foraged Acorn Wreath

@toutenfleurs / Instagram

Some of the best materials for DIY fall decor are those that nature provides. So go out foraging for acorns and make an afternoon of it.

Then, come home with your bounty and hot glue them to a foam wreath base. You can play around with various patterns and orientations for both the acorn bases and tops.

Glitter Washi Tape Pumpkins

Timeless Creations

These glittery pumpkins made with foam spheres, washi tape, and twine would look cute displayed in a bowl or strung as a garland. To nail the perfect pumpkin shape, you'll need to flatten the tops of the foam spheres a bit by applying pressure with your fingers.

Cozy Crocheted Pumpkins

@louloopsco / Instagram

Nothing beats cuddling up on the couch and crocheting this time of year. There are countless patterns for crocheted pumpkins online, so choose one and get busy. The key to making your own beautiful pumpkin patch is definitely choosing yarn colors in various shades of orange and cream.

Playful Leaf Foxes

@4plusmama / Instagram

These adorable fox leaves require just a few simple materials, but we'd say the cute googly eyes are the most crucial. When you're done with this child-friendly craft, you can hot glue them to a string to form a garland.

Ghoulish Leaves

Woodlark Blog

If you love the look of those fox leaves, you're also going to fall for these ghost ones (pun intended). Take any dried leaves, paint them white, and draw on ghost faces. This is a great way to make use of the brown-colored leaves that might not be as captivating in DIY fall decor as the yellow and orange ones.

Fall Wreath Welcome Mat

Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona

Swapping out your everyday welcome mat for a fall one is a simple way to add a festive touch to your porch . For this DIY, all you need is a blank welcome mat and a black marker. Trace a plate to form the base of the wreath, and then have fun drawing on foliage.

Leaf Doodles

Another simple DIY craft that involves leaves is simply drawing directly on them. Just be sure to use felt-tipped markers so you don't break the dry and brittle leaves.

Playful Paper Bats

@carriemshaw / Instagram

You don't have to spend a fortune to add a little fall flair to every room in the house. A colony of bats flocking on a bedroom wall is the perfect example. All you need is some black construction paper, scissors, and a good tracing template. Don't forget to fold their wings up for a little 3-D effect.

Nature's Fall Garland

@janetteschuster.art / Instagram

Before you rake and compost all the fallen leaves in your yard, set a few aside to make a leaf garland. You can press the leaves for a day or two to make sure they are flat enough, and then staple them together.

Friendly Fall Hedgehogs

Getting your kids involved with decorating your fridge for fall will help you make memories and keepsakes. This hedgehog craft is a great way to keep them entertained with things found in your backyard.

Clay Leaf Wall Hanging

@cristianaresina / Instagram

One way to preserve leaves long term is to press them into clay. The texture will leave a beautiful imprint. After baking the clay, you can dip the ends into paint and hang them on a stick to make wall art.

Chicken Feather Leaf

@houseonwillowhill / Instagram

Feathers make for perfect Thanksgiving decor. This simple wreath made out of discarded chicken feathers would be an extra easy DIY if you happen to have a chicken coop in your own backyard.

Scented Fall Potpourri

@theherbologyfaerie / Instagram

One of the best parts of fall is all the amazing scents we associate with it. Fill your house with natural scents like dried apples and cinnamon cloves, which can double as decor when sitting out as potpourri .

You can even apply essential oils to magnify the scents. Once you are done displaying it, you can use it for a scented simmer pot on your stove.

Framed Pressed Leaf Art

@joyjenstudio / Instagram

Another way to make use of your pressed leaf collection is to frame them. Find some thick card stock paper and arrange your leaves on it. Play around with different shapes and layouts until you find one you're satisfied with. Then, use liquid glue to adhere them. Let it all dry and frame your hard work.

Wine Cork Pumpkins

@thewineingtwins / Instagram

An opportunity like this is the real reason you've been building up that collection of wine corks. Start by painting the tops of them orange. Then, attach them together using hot glue and turn them into a hexagon shape. Finish it all off by adding a cork stem, some twine, and faux foliage.

Plush Fabric Pumpkin

@homebird_mrsmac / Instagram

Recycle an old sweater or piece of scrap material with this plush pumpkin DIY. It just involves a little handiwork with some twine to get it into the perfect shape.

Felt Fall Wreath

@liagriffith / Instagram

Felt is one of the best DIY materials because it's so easy to work with and versatile.

• Arrange your cut-out fall leaves on a wreath form.
• To add some dimension and texture, you can draw on the leaf veins and fold and glue certain sections of the leaves to make them 3D.
• Felt glue will work its magic and keep all the leaves in their place.

A Friendly (and Affordable) Ghost

@homesweet4everhome / Instagram

DIYer Amber Lynn put together this ghost using a toilet brush, mini fairy lights, and ghost decoration. The best part is that she found all of the materials at the dollar store.

If you have trouble sourcing the ghost covering, you can always make your own using medium-weight or sheer white fabric. Simply draw on your own face with a black marker.

Fall Balloon Installation

@ao.balloons / Instagram

If you're hosting a dinner party or birthday party this fall, go all out and make a balloon arch using orange and yellow balloons. You can tuck in dried pampas grass and flowers to add a nice little detail. This backdrop would make a great photo op and looks amazing next to other iconic fall decor like pumpkins.

Easy Acorn Squash Craft

Inspired by Charm

It's the time of the year when it's super easy to find acorn squash at the grocery store.

Pick up a few for display (and possibly a few more for cooking while you're at it). Wrap and glue twine around the top to mimic the look of acorn caps, and you've just made yourself some adorable giant acorns to display in under 10 minutes.

Dried Orange Garland

@hearthnvine / Instagram

People often think of dried orange garland as something exclusive to Christmas decor, but it also makes for a lovely addition to your fall mantel. Plus, making it earlier allows you to enjoy the cheerful appearance and wonderful scent for several more weeks out of the year.

Experiment with different ways of stringing on the dried oranges. You can string them open-facing or stack them between herbs and cinnamon sticks like pictured above.

Spooky Gum Ball Tree

The Ponds Farmhouse

One of the scariest parts of fall is having to dodge fallen Sweetgum tree balls. After you get around to raking them, put them to good use as fall-meets-Halloween decor. Glue them to some old branches and display them in an old vase (the rustier, the better).

Dried Fall Flower Arrangement

@melissa.kristyne / Instagram

Floral arranging can be a very simple DIY. While there are so many beautiful fresh fall blooms to choose from, dried flowers show off muted tones perfect for fall, and they last way longer. The process of drying your own flowers and foliage can be rewarding, but if you want to cut a step, you can purchase pre-dried flowers. Paint a galvanized tin vase to match your creation to finish it all off.

Pinecone Pumpkin

@diybeautify / Instagram

Fuse two iconic fall symbols together with this fall decor DIY idea. Deconstruct a few large pinecones and glue the scales to a small pumpkin. Start by gluing the larger scales around the base of the pumpkin and work your way up to the smaller scales. Sorting the scales by size before you begin may help keep you organized.

Painted Pumpkin Designs

@bluebirdcoop / Instagram

Make your mark on a set of real or faux pumpkins by painting on designs. While painting on jack-o-lantern faces is a classic move, consider other ways you can add personality to your pumpkins.

We love this example that shows off small floral doodles in metallic gold paint with simple black outlines.

Wooden Pumpkins

@missyraehome / Instagram

Making pumpkins out of old wood blocks is a classic fall craft. While basic rectangular blocks work super well for this, you might be able to find more unique shapes if you visit a flea market or architectural salvage store.

You can paint the blocks any color you want, distress the edges a bit with some sandpaper, and top them off with some dried Spanish moss and wood stems.

Apple and Pine Arrangement

@suzannezinggstyle / Instagram

This apple and pine arrangement is the perfect piece to last from Thanksgiving to Christmas. You can attach them to a foam base to create a beautiful spherical shape. It would look lovely for a Thanksgiving and Christmas centerpiece alike.

Decorating Tip

You can use faux apples if you're worried about real ones going bad. But if you use real apples, you can always swap them out for a more Christmas-themed fruit, like oranges, later on.

Rainbow Pumpkin Wreath

@mrsgreenartartbaby / Instagram

Just imagine how cheerful your guests would be if this rainbow pumpkin wreath was the first thing they saw when visiting your home.

You'll need a range of paint colors to pull it off, but if you aren't afraid of mixing paint, all it takes is a little extra white paint to produce a wide variety of shades. Painting the stems metallic gold will add a nice little finishing detail.

Thanksgiving Can Votives

A Beautiful Mess

We love DIYs that repurpose items that typically go to the landfill, like old tin cans. This tutorial involves using a hammer and a nail to punch in designs. You'll definitely want to attach a template to the cans so you know exactly where to make the holes.

We especially adore the painted gold interior, which reflects the candlelight glow beautifully. If your table has a reflective surface, the shapes from the holes will show up beautifully.

Shiny Ombre Pumpkins

Pop of Gold

Giving your pumpkins a layer of spray paint is a great way to make them match with the rest of your home decor. When you're at the craft store picking up your spray paint, grab several different colors so you can experiment with an ombre effect. Going with high-gloss spray paint will give your project a fun reflective appearance.

Harvest Signs

If you know your way around a saw, these harvest signs are a pretty simple DIY. After you cut out your desired shapes out of plywood, you'll just need to give them a few coats of spray paint. You can also drill a few holes throughout to prop in lights. Shapes like acorns, leaves, and pumpkins are great options for this DIY.

Seasonal Shadow Box

Shadow boxes are very easy to find at a craft store, and they make wonderful bases for seasonal art. You can pin dried leaves, a fall pendant banner, or a little chalkboard sign inside and put it on your mantel. The best part is that it will be easy to re-decorate it for other seasons and holidays.

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