For nearly two thousand years, scholars accepted Aristotle's claim that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. People assumed a massive stone would strike the ground long before a small pebble dropped from the same height.
In the late sixteenth century, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei questioned this ancient belief. According to his biographer Vincenzo Viviani, Galileo climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped two cannonballs of different weights simultaneously. Both spheres hit the ground at almost the exact same instant, disproving Aristotle's physics.
Air resistance was the hidden variable that confused early observers. In 1971, Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott tested Galileo's theory on the Moon by dropping a geological hammer and a falcon feather. With no lunar atmosphere to slow the feather, both hit the dusty ground together.
Modern physicists still recreate this test in giant vacuum chambers, confirming that gravity accelerates all objects at the exact same rate regardless of their mass.
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Disclaimer: This video is for informational and educational purposes. The historical narrative is drawn from public records and visual assets serve illustrative purposes.
