Ik this might be a difficult one but I genuinely want to wrap my head around this
In: 9
Imagine a pool table that’s tilted slightly. There’s a second one that’s flat.
On the flat table, I can roll a ball from one side and hit some spot on the opposite edge of the table. It takes a straight path and, besides changing the speed in which I roll the ball, the straight path is the fastest path.
Now on the tilted table, I attempt the same thing: rolling the ball straight towards the specific spot on the opposite edge. This time, the tilt causes the ball to arch to the left side – this is like gravity accelerating a particle. Now, I can still make the ball hit the same spot, but I have to have it travel away from the direction of the lean so it arches back down to hit the spot.
Now let’s make a special rule: the ball always travels the same speed; it doesn’t slow down or speed up according to the slope of the table. Since the ball travels in an arch instead of a straight path, this interaction from one side of the table to the other *takes longer* than the flat table “gravity-less” interaction.
This analogy works based on different tilt orientations (compare the ball rolling one direction versus the other) as well as the table under acceleration instead of a tilt.
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