Eli5: Why can’t two people pick each other up at the same time and essentially “fly”?

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Eli5: Why can’t two people pick each other up at the same time and essentially “fly”?

In: Physics

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

To stick someone up you need to push yourself down. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thus pushing them up is equalized by your being pushed down this you are even and if they push you up they are even. You are even. We are all even!

Anonymous 0 Comments

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

So, when picking something up, you are able to pick something up because there is an opposite downwards force into the ground thanks to gravity. For two people to pick each other up at the same time, this opposite reaction does not exist and therefore it’s impossible in Earth’s gravity environment.

Anonymous 0 Comments

In essence, this has all got to do with Newton’s third law that states there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

So for example when person A lifts person B Person A experiences a downwards force of the same sizes as he is using to lift person B with. This is the same reason why guns have recoil when shot.