If I attach the same engine to a 1,000 kg spacecraft and a 10,000 kg spacecraft in orbit, the 1,000 kg spacecraft will accelerate more quickly. If I drop a 1 kg rock and a 10 kg rock on the moon, they accelerate at the same rate. What is the difference?
I think what I may be asking is “why is gravity the a and not the f in f=ma.”
EDIT: BY all means please feel free to discuss, but I consider the question answered by u/mmmmmmBacon12345
mmmmmmm….. Bacon…..
In: 0
The force of gravity is F=G (m1 M2)/r^(2). The mass of the rock and the mass of the Earth both matter for the force
This means that the 10 kg rock experiences a 10x greater force than the 1 kg rock but since it’s mass and inertia are also 10x greater they both experience the same acceleration
When you slap a rocket engine on the two different space ships it’s the same engine so now the force is the same. Since the force is the same but the masses are different then the acceleration must be different
If you instead scale it up and slap 10 engines on the bigger one then the bigger one will again have 10x the force and the acceleration will match
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